Taeyeon of Girls' Generation Faces Accusation of "Negligent Driving"

Taeyeon (left) and the Instagram photo posted by an alleged victim of the collision

On November 29, Taeyeon of Girls' Generation was involved in a three-car rear-end collision at around 8 PM KST in Gangnam, Seoul.

"Taeyeon got to the hospital first only because she is famous," wrote the alleged victim.

The Gangnam Police Department reports that the Mercedes-Benz that Taeyeon was driving rear-ended a Kia taxi, which in turn led the taxi to collide with an Audi in front of it. The two passengers of the taxi and the Audi driver were minorly injured and were moved to the hospital nearby accordingly. The police also said none suffered any external injury.

"Taeyeon was found not guilty of driving under the influence. It seems to be a case of negligent driving," the police said, adding that "details of the accident regarding the scale of the damage and the exact cause will be available once the investigation is complete."

Taeyeon's label SM Entertainment issued an official statement that read "Taeyeon's negligent driving led to a traffic collision. She apologizes to the drivers and the passengers involved and will take full responsibility for the accident."

According to the statement, Taeyeon has returned home from the hospital and is without injury. She is also "sorry for causing concern to many."

Instagram post by an alleged victim of the collision

On the same day of the accident, an unidentified Instagram account holder, who claims to be one of the victims of the collision, alleged that "the airbag inflated and the car windows were shattered and yet Taeyeon got to the hospital first only because she is famous." The account was deleted shortly after the post started attracting a flurry of online attention.

An official at the Gangnam Fire Station clarified to the press that "there seems to have been a misunderstanding that Taeyeon was prioritized in being given medical treatment" but she was "only moved to the hospital first because she was classified as an emergency patient after a complaint of chest pain."

By Gothesun and Arin Kim voomvoomk@gmail.com