Hyundai Motor to offer new truck to life-saving driver

By Baek Byung-yeul

Hyundai Motor will give a new truck to a cargo truck driver who used his vehicle to save three citizens in a traffic tunnel flooded by heavy rain in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, July 15, to help the heroic man resume his livelihood, the company said Saturday.

On July 15 when a large amount of rain hit the country, the tunnel in Cheongju’s Osong area filled with water, killing 14 people. During the crisis, truck driver Yoo Byeong-jo rescued two men and a woman who had been swept away by the water by pulling them on top of his truck.

During the flash flood, Yoo’s truck lost power so he broke the window and climbed onto the roof of the truck. At that moment, he noticed a woman in her 20s who had been swept out of a bus and was holding on to the side mirror of his truck, so he pulled her up with him. Yoo then spotted two men floating in the water and rescued them also.

One of the men that Yoo saved was the head of the sewerage team at the North Chungcheong Provincial Government and he went on to save three others later. In the end, saving one person’s life resulted in saving others in a crisis situation.

As he was unable to take his damaged truck back on the road, Hyundai Motor announced it would donate a new Hyundai Xcient heavy-duty truck to Yoo.

Other companies and a truckers’ association have also announced their support for Yoo whose livelihood was threatened by the disaster.

LX Pantos offered Yoo 50 million won ($38,860) on July 19 to help cover vehicle repairs. Yoo has been transporting cargo for the logistics company since 2020. The Korea Trucking Association (KTA) also delivered 25 million won for the purchase of a cargo vehicle.

After receiving such widespread support, Yoo humbly said that he just did what anyone would have done.

“At the time, the situation was so dire and all I could think about was saving people. Anyone in the same situation would have acted the same way I did,” he said.