[News Culture] A traffic accident from the fall of 2003 remains the subject of a legal battle more than two decades later. SBS’ Unanswered Questions is revisiting the conflicting testimony and records at the center of a case in which the identity of the driver became the defining question.
The July 25 episode examines a crash that occurred at an intersection in Yeongbuk-myeon, Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, in September 2003. A car making a left turn struck a utility pole, leaving one occupant dead the following day and the other seriously injured and unconscious for months.
Lee Soo-jae regained consciousness four months later after suffering severe injuries, including a depressed skull fracture. His recovery was only the beginning of another ordeal. After leaving the hospital, Lee was informed by police that he had been driving the car at the time of the crash. He was eventually prosecuted and convicted.
Investigators based their conclusion largely on accounts of the rescue scene. Emergency responders and police officers who investigated the crash said Lee had been pulled from the driver’s seat, while a man identified under the pseudonym Choi had been found in the passenger seat. Police said Choi’s identity had been confirmed through identification found at the scene.
But records from the night of the crash appear to tell a different story.
According to the program, a 119 emergency response log identified Lee—not Choi—as the passenger. Medical records produced after both men were taken to the same hospital also contain details that raise further questions about where each man had been sitting when the crash occurred.
The accounts of two eyewitnesses, Jeon Young-do and Seong Gi-su, also contradicted the official investigation. Both testified in court that Lee had been in the passenger seat. Their testimony was rejected, and both were later convicted of perjury.
Jeon’s son tells the production team that his father maintained until the end that he had not lied. He says his family believes the false testimony came not from the witnesses, but from the police side of the case.
Determined to overturn what they believe were wrongful judgments, Lee and the two witnesses spent decades collecting records and evidence. Their efforts eventually led to petitions for retrial.
Unanswered Questions now returns to the original accident reports, emergency response records, medical documents and courtroom testimony to examine how the identity of the driver was determined—and whether the truth of the crash was lost somewhere along the way.
The 23-year dispute over what really happened that night will be examined on SBS’ Unanswered Questions, airing July 25 at 11:10 p.m.
Reported by News Culture M.J._mj94070777@nc.press
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