/Yonhap News

In the heart of Gangnam, Seoul, a man in his 20s, identified as Kim, claimed temporary insanity in court after causing a seven-vehicle collision while driving under the influence of drugs without a license.

Kim's attorney acknowledged all charges during Kim's first trial on the allegation of causing bodily injury and dangerous driving under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes at the Seoul Central District Court on the 13th. The attorney noted, 'At the time of the accident, Kim was in a state of temporary insanity (due to drug use) and was unable to make normal judgments,' adding, 'We will submit a mental health assessment request.'

During the trial, as the black box footage of the accident was played, Kim was seen in tears. Kim had driven his mother's car without a license around 1 p.m. on Nov. 2 last year, striking a woman in her 30s who was pushing a stroller with her 4-year-old son on a side street in the Goyeon-dong area of Songpa-gu, Seoul, before fleeing. He then crashed into multiple vehicles on Teheran Road in Gangnam, injuring a total of nine people before being arrested at the scene.

Prosecutors found that Kim was unable to drive normally at the time of the accident due to having taken clonazepam, a controlled substance, for medical purposes.