When Kim Jin-seok came to Jeju in February last year메이저놀이터, he borrowed the car of an acquaintance who was on a business trip.
He started at his friend’s apartment in Hallim-eup, Jeju City, stopped at Seogwipo, and then went to Jeju Airport to pick up his group. He also stopped at a gas station to fill up the car with gas.
After driving for six hours, Mr. Kim parked in front of a convenience store and when he tried to leave again, the car wouldn’t start.
When he contacted his insurance company and was told, “This is not a covered vehicle,” he contacted an acquaintance who had lent him the car and realized it wasn’t his.
The car on the left is a 2002 Verna borrowed from an acquaintance. The car on the right is a 2010 Verna that belongs to someone else.
She had mistaken the same car in the parking lot of her acquaintance’s apartment for her own, and the contact information on the car didn’t belong to her either.
Panicked, Kim immediately contacted the real owner to explain his mistake and alerted the police.
But the car had already been reported as stolen and wanted.
After listening to the situation, the police concluded that there was no intent, given the presence of the same car in the parking lot and the fact that she reported it herself, and closed the case without charging Kim.
■ The actual car owner complained of “economic and psychological damages”…if Mr. Kim “hadn’t started the car.”
The problem is that while Mr. Kim was driving the car, the real owner, who is self-employed, was interrupted.
“I was so panicked when I came to work and my car was gone,” the owner said, “I called the police and couldn’t do my job properly because I was so distraught.”
“I had to borrow a car from someone I knew to get ready for business,” he said, adding, “Even if it was a mistake, I don’t think it’s fair to the victim.”
Eventually, the actual borrower filed a lawsuit against Mr. Kim, claiming responsibility for economic and psychological damages.
Before the trial, Mr. Kim expressed his frustration, saying, “It’s my fault that I started someone else’s car without checking the license plate or color, but this wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t started the car in the first place.”
“I can compensate them for a day’s rental, but I don’t understand the rest of the damages,” Kim said, adding, “They just want to know why the car was defective.”
■ Hyundai Motor Company “No Measures for Now”…Expert “It’s Possible”
Mr. Kim contacted Hyundai about a month ago to explain the situation and ask for a solution.
“We’ve had similar cases in the past, but it’s a one in 10,000 chance,” a Hyundai official told him, “and if it’s true, we need to replace the key box.”
“The car won’t start right now,” the Hyundai representative said, “and there’s nothing we can do about it.” When the KBS crew arrived to investigate, the Hyundai representative told them.
The reporters asked an expert to explain how this could have happened.
“In the old cars, when you put the key in the keybox, there weren’t many types of formulations, so one or two of the many cars might open and start,” said Kim Pil-soo, a professor of automotive at Daelim University.
“The reason why the car didn’t start later was because the key was out of contact,” he said, adding, “It’s technically understandable if the car started and didn’t start.”