A traffic accident involving a Lamborghini Gallardo with an estimated repair cost of 140 million won ($126,000) was on Wednesday revealed to have been an attempted insurance fraud.
The accident occurred on March 14 in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, and photographs of the incident quickly went viral.
The minor collision involved a Lamborghini Gallardo, which is priced at over 400 million won on the local market, and Renault Samsung’s large sedan SM7.
In the accident, the SM7, driven by a welding technician at a local shipyard, rear-ended the parked Lamborghini. The resulting damage was estimated to cost 140 million won to repair.
“The accounts of the drivers of the Lamborghini and the SM7 did not match, and when a former detective and insurance staff looked into the incident, it was revealed that the accident was staged,” an official with Dongbu Insurance Co., SM7 owner’s insurance provider, told the local media.
The insurance official also said the two drivers have admitted to staging the accident, and that the company is considering filing charges against them.
The police, however, can investigate insurance fraud cases without complaints being filed, and the Geoje police plans to launch an investigation.
Despite the authorities’ efforts to clamp down on the related irregularities, insurance fraud has been on the rise in Korea, coming in at more than 500 billion won in 2013. The figure stood at 453.3 billion won in 2012 and at 423.6 billion won in 2011.
By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)
