Victim's family sues Ford, universities for US$20 million over car accident

SEOUL, Sept. 29 (Yonhap) -- The family of a Korean student who died in a car accident during an academic trip to the United States is seeking US$20 million in compensation from the vehicle manufacturer, Ford Motor Company, and schools that arranged the trip, the defence's legal adviser said Monday.

The accident occurred in 2006 in California's Carrizo Plain and left Lee
Hye-jeong, 24, dead and her professor, who drove the car, almost completely
paralyzed when their Ford vehicle overturned during a geological survey trip
organized by their alma mater, Seoul National University (SNU) and the California
Institute of Technology (Caltech).
Four others in the car, all SNU students, sustained minor injuries.
The tragedy became a bitter legal battle after the student's mother, identified
only by her family name Hong, filed a lawsuit with a district court in Los
Angeles County in May. In the suit Hong demanded US$20 million in compensation
from Ford, SNU and Caltech, which helped arrange the trip and provided the
vehicle to the Korean team, said Kim Jae-hyung, an SNU law professor handling the
case for the school.
"We received the court notice in August and are supposed to submit our documents
by October," Kim said, noting that such compensation suits would not be
permissible under Korean law but that legal standards may be different in the
U.S.
The plaintiff could not be reached for comment.
Professor Lee Sang-mook, the driver of the vehicle, has since become an academic
celebrity nicknamed Korea's Stephen Hawking for his contributions to earth and
environmental sciences, as well as funding for the disabled. Paralyzed from the
neck down, Lee has often spoken of the sorrow he feels for the death of the
student.
He recently published an autobiography, "0.1 Gram of Hope," which relates how he
overcame his fatal injuries. Proceeds from the book will be dedicated to a
scholarship named after Lee Hye-jeong.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)

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