"The real perjurer is the police"... The truth behind a traffic accident witness punished for perjury in SBS's 'Knowing It All' [That Knows]

*This content was translated by AI.

SBS public affairs program 'Knowing It All' traces the hidden secrets within a traffic accident that completely upended the lives of three people.

The tragedy began around 3:30 p.m. on September 28, 2003. A gruesome traffic accident occurred at a rural crossroads in Yeongbuk-myeon, Pocheon. A sedan turned left and crashed directly into a utility pole at the corner of the road; the driver died the next day, while the passenger in the front seat suffered serious injuries and fell into a coma.

Lee Su-jae, who was in the front seat during the accident but miraculously regained consciousness four months later, sustained permanent disabilities including a depressed skull fracture and was only discharged from the hospital one year after the crash. He says that one day, police came to visit him. Surprisingly, he was identified as the driver of the vehicle involved in the accident.

At the time of the accident, the car's front passenger door was dented due to the impact with the utility pole, but the responding ambulance team testified that they opened the driver's side door first and rescued the driver. A private ambulance transported the driver (Lee Su-jae), who was wearing bright clothing in the driver's seat, while 119 emergency services transported the passenger (Mr. Choi, pseudonym), who was wearing dark clothing in the front passenger seat.

Police from the traffic accident investigation division also arrived at the scene and reportedly saw the front-seat passenger before he was rescued; they took out his wallet and confirmed the name 'Mr. Choi' on his ID card. The police transferred Lee Su-jae to the Prosecution Service, claiming he was the driver who caused the fatal accident, and Lee Su-jae was ultimately found guilty.

However, the 119th emergency activity log recorded the front-seat passenger as 'Lee Su-jae,' not 'Mr. Choi,' and the medical records of the two individuals transported to the same hospital at five-minute intervals also seemed suspicious. The memories of two eyewitnesses who directly witnessed the traffic accident scene contradicted the testimonies given by the ambulance team and police.

"My father insisted that it be made clear he did not lie. I believe the real perjurer is the police." — Son of deceased eyewitness Jeon Young-do

Jeon Young-do and Sung Ki-soo clearly witnessed that Lee Su-jae was the passenger in the vehicle during that day's traffic accident. However, their courtroom testimonies were not accepted, and both men were punished for perjury. Instead, they spent 23 years seeking to clear their names by filing a retrial request with evidence they personally gathered, claiming they were unjustly imprisoned due to perjury committed by police from the traffic accident investigation division. Who was the actual driver that day, and what is the hidden truth?

'Knowing It All' will be broadcast at 11:10 p.m. on the 25th.

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*This content was translated by AI.