Drunk woman's erratic rampage in parking lot leaves victim with repair bill

“Hey! You!” With a shout echoing through the parking lot, a woman threw a shoe at a vehicle. She then attempted to open the car door before suddenly climbing onto the hood and jumping. The rampage lasted about three minutes, causing significant damage to the vehicle, but the perpetrator claimed she had no memory of the incident. While the repair costs for the victim's vehicle amounted to 2 million won, the final criminal punishment was a fine of only 1 million won.

In the September 15 broadcast of JTBC's 'Han Moonchul's Dashcam Review' (hereafter 'Hanblee'), cases of so-called 'bolt from the blue accidents' that occur suddenly in everyday parking spaces were introduced. Among them, the most eye-catching was the erratic behavior of a heavily intoxicated woman targeting a parked vehicle.

The informant was finishing a night shift and was parking around 7:00 AM when they suddenly encountered a woman. The woman, appearing to be in her early 40s, shouted, “Hey! You!” out of nowhere and threw a shoe at the car. Unsure of the situation, the informant first pulled the vehicle to a stop.

The woman immediately approached the passenger side and tried to open the door. While doing so, she repeatedly uttered incomprehensible words like “Do it, do it, seduce, seduce.” Judging it to be an abnormal situation, the informant began filming the scene with a mobile phone. At that point, the woman said, “Hey, what are you filming?” yet continued her bizarre behavior, smiling at the camera, waving her hands, and posing.

The cast members on the show could not hide their bewilderment. Soobin reacted to the woman's attitude by asking, “Why is she acting so aegyo?” while Jung Yi-rang expressed shock by comparing her subsequent actions to the amusement park ride 'Disco Pang Pang.' Han Bo-reum also compared the woman's movements to twerking.

The problem started from that moment.

The woman continued to try to enter the vehicle, and the informant, fearing the situation would escalate, did not take any specific action. After leaving the spot for a moment, the woman reappeared and approached the front of the vehicle this time. She then climbed directly onto the hood.

The woman repeatedly sat on the hood, stood up, and jumped. This heavy thumping movement on top of the car lasted for about three minutes. The shock was fully transmitted to the informant inside the vehicle.

The informant appealed regarding the situation, saying, “It was a massive shaking,” and “I couldn't calm down and felt like I was going to vomit.” Beyond simply damaging the exterior of the car, it was a situation that could cause significant physical and mental shock to the person inside the vehicle.

The woman's rampage did not end there. As she repeatedly threw shoes and hurled insults, the informant judged that even stepping out of the car could be dangerous and called the police. The police arrived at the scene about 10 minutes later, but it was reported that the woman also acted out against the officers.

The key variable of the incident revealed later was the woman's state of intoxication. According to the informant, the woman was heavily intoxicated at the time and claimed to have no memory whatsoever of her actions after the incident ended.

The problem continued even during the process of recovering damages.

The police informed the victim that contact would be made later for a settlement, but the informant received no contact for about two months. Only after waiting and inquiring with the police directly did contact come from the woman's husband. The husband reportedly replied that his wife had no memory and therefore they could not understand the situation.

Since the incident occurred between neighbors, the informant wanted to settle within an appropriate range rather than dragging out a long legal battle. The amount requested was 2.5 million won. However, the woman's side maintained that it would be difficult to pay more than 1.5 million won, and ultimately, they failed to reach a settlement and the case moved to trial.

As a result of the trial, the woman was sentenced to a fine of 1 million won for property damage. However, the actual repair cost the informant had to bear reached 2 million won. A gap occurred between the fine finalized in the criminal trial and the actual property damage suffered by the victim.

The informant expressed frustration, saying, “It seems they aren't making active efforts to recover damages because they think a 1 million won fine is cheaper than a settlement.” Regardless of the fact that criminal punishment was handed down, the situation was one where the victim's dissatisfaction inevitably grew, as the economic loss suffered by the victim is not automatically compensated.

Lawyer Han Moonchul, the host of 'Hanblee,' advised that to recover damages, one must consider civil methods separately from criminal procedures. He noted that paying a fine does not end the matter and suggested that after repairing the vehicle through insurance, one should pursue a claim for reimbursement against the perpetrator.

This case demonstrates that even if an act is committed while intoxicated, legal liability follows if actual damage is caused to another's property. Furthermore, criminal punishment and civil damages are separate procedures.

Parking lots, which are used by everyone in daily life, are vulnerable to such unpredictable situations. As vehicles are high-value assets, even momentary rampages can cause significant loss. The fear and anxiety felt by the victim, combined with repair costs and legal disputes, mean the aftermath of such an incident often lasts much longer than the few minutes of the actual rampage.

While the woman's bizarre behavior was presented as a moment of absurdity on the show, for the victim, it was far from a lighthearted happening. The intense shaking felt inside the car, the 2 million won repair bill, and the two-month struggle for compensation prove that 'bolt from the blue accidents' are a harsh reality.