A twist in viral ‘Good Samaritans in road beer spill’ video

Hundreds of beer bottles flooded a street in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, after falling off a truck that had made a sharp turn on Aug. 12. A group of passersby came to the rescue, cleaning up the mess in about 30 minutes.

If this sounds familiar to you, you‘re not alone. A video showing a very similar incident in the same city went viral in late June.

Surveillance camera footage showed how, in the June incident, good Samaritans turned up one by one and did what needed to be done. After going viral, beer company Oriental Brewery published notices and ads to track down the “real heroes” and thank them.

This seemingly-heartwarming story has turned into a tale of safety concerns after it was revealed that the same truck and same driver were involved in the more-recent incident too.

The penalties for the original incident were points on the driver’s license and a fine of 50,000 won ($37.7). The police responded more sternly to the second incident, however, ordering the driver to get a safety check on his vehicle and report it back within 10 days. Use of the truck was prohibited during that time. As the inspection found no issues with the truck, the driver equipped his container with an alarm system that alerts the driver when the cargo is not safely secured, the police explained.

The driver reportedly claimed that he had closed the cargo door and that the door just opened for some reason, causing beer bottles to spill on the road. 

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)