Gwangju Northern Police Station said on the 31st that it arrested A, a man in his 20s from Uzbekistan, and is investigating him on charges including theft, unlawful use of license plates, and violations of the Road Traffic Act and the Motor Vehicle Damage Compensation Act.
A, an international student at a local university, allegedly caused a collision at about 1 a.m. on the 6th on the Dongun overpass in Buk-gu, Gwangju, while driving a vehicle whose registration had been canceled and without a license.
With no auto insurance, A fled the scene without reporting the crash. Police opened an investigation after the victim reported the incident and arrested him the previous afternoon on a road in Sinan-dong, Buk-gu.
While investigating the crash, police confirmed that the vehicle’s license plates had been stolen on Feb. 3 from a scrapyard in Eumseong, North Chungcheong Province, and tracked them.
In questioning, A reportedly told police, "I knew it was a ghost car, but I didn't steal the license plates."
Police said A entered South Korea in July of last year and appears to have acquired the vehicle from someone else. Given the seriousness of the case, they plan to seek an arrest warrant.
