Most drivers know to stop after a crash. Fewer know what Korean law expects next: who you must help, what you must hand over, and when a call to the police is required rather than optional.
This guide walks through those steps in order, using the Road Traffic Act and the two laws that decide what happens afterward. It also covers how insurance changes the criminal side of an injury crash.
The short answer
- Stop immediately, help anyone who is hurt, and give the other party your name, phone number and address.
- Report to the police unless only vehicles were damaged and you have made the road safe. Any injury means you report.
- On expressways, put out a warning triangle behind the car and move people behind the guardrail.
- Failing to stop, help the injured or give your details is a crime, with up to five years in prison or a fine of up to KRW 15 million.
- If someone is injured, insurance can keep a careless driver from being prosecuted, but not in twelve listed situations, not after a death, and not if the driver fled.
Right after the crash
On an expressway, get people to safety first (see the next section). Then the legal duties apply.
Article 54(1) of the Road Traffic Act (도로교통법) applies whenever a vehicle injures or kills someone or damages property. The driver, and other crew if there are any, must stop at once and do two things.
Help the injured. The law says to take the necessary steps to aid casualties. In practice that starts with calling 119, which handles ambulances and rescue.
Give your details to the victim. The article means details such as your name, phone number and address. If the other driver isn’t there, as with a parked car you have scraped, you still have to leave your details. Doing nothing in that case is a separate offense under Article 156, item 10, punishable by a fine of up to KRW 200,000, detention or a minor fine.
Making the scene safe
On expressways and motor-vehicle-only roads, Article 66 of the act requires a driver whose car can’t move to set out a warning sign and move the car off the expressway or take other necessary steps.
Article 40 of the Enforcement Rule (도로교통법 시행규칙) names the sign: a safety triangle. At night you also need a red flare, flashing light or electric lamp that can be seen from 500 meters away in every direction (about 1,640 feet, our conversion). Both go where drivers coming from behind can see them.
The Korea Expressway Corporation gives this order on its secondary-accident prevention page:
- Turn on your hazard lights.
- Move the car to the shoulder or another safe spot.
- Put the triangle behind the car, plus a flare at night.
- Get everyone out and behind the guardrail.
- Report to 112 (police) and 119 (fire and ambulance), and call 1588-2504 for emergency towing.
The same page says a crash into a car or person already stopped after an earlier accident or breakdown is about six times as deadly as an ordinary crash. Standing next to a damaged car in a live lane is the risk this order is built to avoid.
When you must report to the police
Article 54(2) requires the driver to report without delay to an officer at the scene, or to the nearest police station if none is there. Small local police boxes (지구대, 파출소) count. The report covers:
- where the crash happened
- how many people were hurt or killed, and how badly
- what was damaged, and how badly
- what else you have done
The one exception. You don’t have to report when it is clear that only vehicles were damaged and you have taken the steps needed to prevent danger and keep traffic moving. If anyone is hurt, even slightly, the exception doesn’t apply. The same goes for damage to anything other than a vehicle, such as a guardrail or wall.
Failing to report when you must is punishable under Article 154, item 4, by a fine of up to KRW 300,000 or detention. Calling 112 reaches the police directly.
The police may ask you to wait at the scene until an officer arrives (Article 54(3)), and officers there can give you instructions for helping the injured and keeping traffic safe (Article 54(4)).
In an emergency, call 112 or 119 first. The Korean National Police Agency’s English site also lists 1330, the Foreign Tourist Information line.
Leaving the scene
Driving off without stopping, helping the injured or giving your details is covered by Article 148. The penalty is up to five years in prison or a fine of up to KRW 15 million.
The article carves out one case: a crash where only a parked or stopped car was damaged and the driver failed to leave details. That case falls under the smaller Article 156 offense described above. It is still an offense, so leave a note with your name and number, or wait for the owner.
If someone is injured: how insurance affects prosecution
Injuring someone through negligent driving can be a crime in Korea, under Article 268 of the Criminal Act. The Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents (교통사고처리 특례법) sets the penalty and then limits when prosecutors can use it.
The penalty. Article 3(1) sets up to five years’ imprisonment (without labor) or a fine of up to KRW 20 million when a driver causes death or injury through negligence while driving.
The victim’s wishes. Under Article 3(2), a driver who carelessly injures someone, or carelessly damages property (Road Traffic Act Article 151), can’t be prosecuted against the victim’s clearly stated wishes, unless an exception below applies.
Insurance. Article 4 goes further. It applies when the car is covered by insurance or a mutual-aid scheme that pays the victim’s full medical costs up front and, in the end, the full damages set by a court. Then the driver can’t be prosecuted for those offenses, unless an exception below applies. The insurer must confirm the cover in writing.
Where neither protection applies. Both rules cover injury and property damage only. They don’t cover a death. They also fall away in these cases:
| Situation | Where it comes from |
|---|---|
| Leaving without helping the victim, or moving and abandoning them | Art. 3(2), proviso |
| Refusing or obstructing a breath test for alcohol (unless you asked for or agreed to a blood test) | Art. 3(2), proviso |
| Running a signal or ignoring an officer’s signal, or ignoring a no-entry or stop sign | Art. 3(2), item 1 |
| Crossing the center line, or an illegal U-turn, crossing or reversing on an expressway | Item 2 |
| Driving more than 20 km/h over the limit | Item 3 |
| Illegal overtaking or cutting in | Item 4 |
| Breaking the rules at a railroad crossing | Item 5 |
| Failing to protect a pedestrian on a crosswalk | Item 6 |
| Driving without a license, or without carrying an international driving permit | Item 7 |
| Driving drunk or impaired by drugs | Item 8 |
| Driving onto a sidewalk | Item 9 |
| Failing to prevent passengers from falling out | Item 10 |
| Injuring a child in a children’s protection (school) zone through a breach of the duty of care | Item 11 |
| Failing to secure cargo | Item 12 |
Insurance protection also ends under Article 4(1) if the victim’s injury becomes life-threatening, leaves them disabled, or causes an incurable or hard-to-cure illness. It ends as well if the policy is void or cancelled, or the insurer owes nothing because of an exclusion in the contract.
Item 7 matters for visitors. Its wording covers driving without an international driving permit on you. Our guide to Korea’s international driving permit rules explains which permits Korea accepts.
Whether a case falls into any of these categories is decided by the police and prosecutors, not by the other driver or an insurer. If you are told you may be charged, ask the investigating police station what applies to your case, or speak to a lawyer.
Insurance and rental cars
The Motor Vehicle Accident Compensation Guarantee Act (자동차손해배상 보장법) makes liability insurance compulsory. Article 5 requires every owner to carry cover for death and injury to others, plus cover for damage to others’ property. Rental companies must also carry extra injury cover above the compulsory limit (Article 5(3)).
Under Article 10, a victim can claim directly from the at-fault driver’s insurer rather than waiting for the driver to pay. If someone is injured or killed by a car whose owner can’t be identified, or by an uninsured driver, Article 30 lets the government pay compensation up to the compulsory insurance limit. This covers injury and death, not damage to vehicles.
If you were driving a rental, call the company as soon as everyone is safe. What its insurance covers, the deductible on damage to the car itself, and charges for the days it is off the road all come from your contract. Our guide to renting a car in Korea goes through those terms in the government’s model rental contract.
What to record before you leave
Do this only where it is safe. On an expressway, move first and take photos later. None of it is a legal requirement, but it makes the police report and any insurance claim easier.
- Photos of both cars, their positions on the road, plates and any skid marks or debris
- The other driver’s name, phone number and insurer
- Names and numbers of witnesses
- Dashcam footage, saved before it is overwritten
- The name of the police station or officer handling the report
Before you drive
- Check that the car has a warning triangle, and a red flare or flashing lamp if you will drive on expressways at night.
- Save 112, 119, 1330 and, for expressways, 1588-2504 in your phone.
- If you rent, note the company’s accident number from the contract.
- Keep your international driving permit with you, not in your luggage.
Last checked: October 18, 2026. Sources: Road Traffic Act, Articles 54, 66, 148, 151, 154 and 156, Enforcement Rule of the Road Traffic Act, Article 40, Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents, Articles 3 and 4 and Motor Vehicle Accident Compensation Guarantee Act, Articles 5, 10 and 30 (Korean Law Information Center, in Korean); Korea Expressway Corporation, secondary-accident prevention page (in Korean); Korean National Police Agency (English).