Traffic accidents in Korea: duties, settlement, and the licence

This guide is about traffic accidents in Korea, not about drinking and driving, which is a separate offence with its own guide. It covers what the driver is legally required to do in the minutes after a collision, why most injury accidents can be closed by agreement with the injured person and which ones cannot, and why the licence decision is not part of the court case.

1. What the law requires in the first minutes

Where a vehicle causes injury or damages property, the driver must stop immediately, take the necessary measures including aid to the injured, and provide their personal details to the other party. That is the first duty and it is not discretionary.

The second duty is to report: to a police officer if one is present, otherwise without delay to the nearest police station, giving the place, the number and condition of casualties, what was damaged and to what extent. There is one exception, and it is narrow: where only vehicles were damaged, that is clear, and the driver has taken the measures needed to prevent danger and keep traffic moving.

The importance of these two duties is out of proportion to how simple they sound, because failing them is what converts an ordinary accident into the case nobody wants.

2. Why most injury accidents can be settled, and which cannot

The general rule

A driver who injures someone through negligence in the course of driving faces imprisonment without labour of up to five years or a fine of up to twenty million won. But for the negligent injury offences, and for negligent damage to property, prosecution cannot proceed against the express wishes of the injured person. That is why an agreement with the injured party closes most of these cases.

The exceptions, which are where the cases go wrong

The proviso removes that protection in three groups of situation. The first is leaving: failing to take the measures required after the accident and fleeing, or moving the injured person away from the scene and fleeing. The second is refusing a breath test, or obstructing the measurement. The third is a list of driving violations that caused the injury, including running a signal, crossing the centre line, exceeding the speed limit by more than twenty kilometres per hour, unlawful overtaking, and a failure at a pedestrian crossing.

The practical consequence is stark. In those cases a settlement does not end the matter. It still reduces the sentence, and it still matters a great deal, but the prosecution continues whether or not the injured person forgives you.

Why the first duty and the exception list connect

The most common way an ordinary accident becomes a serious case is not the collision. It is a driver who did not realise that someone was hurt, or who moved the car and then left, and who is later treated as having fled. Once that characterisation attaches, the case moves out of the settle-and-close category entirely.

3. The licence is decided separately

The criminal case and the driving licence run on different tracks, before different bodies, on different timetables. A favourable outcome in court does not automatically preserve the licence, and the licence decision can land long before the court case is finished. Anyone who needs to keep driving has to treat it as a second case rather than a consequence of the first.

4. The provisions this rests on

Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents, Article 3, Act No. 20634, in force from 4 June 2025; Road Traffic Act, Articles 54, 93 and 151, Act No. 21246, in force from 1 July 2026. Verified against the current consolidated texts.

5. Case law

Our case bank holds no first instance or appellate decision directly on these provisions, so none is cited here.

6. The specific questions, answered separately

Drinking and driving is dealt with separately in the guide to DUI in Korea. The full set of driving questions sits in the traffic and driving answers section.

Frequently asked questions

Nobody seemed hurt and we exchanged numbers. Do I still have to report it?

If a person was injured, yes. The exception to the reporting duty covers damage to vehicles only, where that is clear and the driver has dealt with the danger to other traffic. Injury that appears later is a common and expensive surprise.

The other driver agreed not to press it. Is the case over?

Usually yes for a straightforward negligent injury. Not if the accident falls into one of the excepted groups, where the prosecution proceeds regardless.

I did not realise I had hit anything.

That is a real defence and it is also the hardest place to be, because the question becomes what you knew at the time. Dashcam footage, the physical damage and the timing are what decide it.

Will I lose my licence if the court is lenient?

Possibly. The licence decision is administrative and separate. Treat it as its own matter from the start.

Traffic Accidents in Korea: What the Driver Must Do and When a Settlement Ends It