Kim Hee-chul’s Major Car Accident
On August 10, 2006, Kim Hee-chul was involved in a car accident while heading back to Seoul from Mokpo right after attending Super Junior Dong-hae’s father’s funeral. The main cause of the accident was a tire malfunction while his car attempted to switch lanes. Due to the accident, Kim Hee-chul fractured his left leg in five places, including his femur, knee, and ankle, and went through surgery for 6 hours afterward. Other injuries included a tear in his tongue which required stitches and several minor injuries.
Kim Hee-chul was absent for 12 weeks from Super Junior’s activities. He was released from the hospital on September 13, 2006, but he still continued with medical check-ups and received out-patient care. Kim Hee-chul had his second surgery on October 10, 2006, to remove some of the iron rods in his leg.
During his recovery time, Kim Hee-chul slowly returned to work in late October 2006 in a wheelchair and officially returned to his individual activities in late December 2006. In 2008, the remaining rods in his leg were removed.
Kim Hee-chul’s Minor Car Accidents
During Super Junior’s visit for Super Show 3 in Singapore on January 28, 2011, Kim Hee-chul and Leeteuk got into a small car accident due to fans’ cars chasing their car and creating a racing scenario between them. The accident involved 7 cars, including 5 cars from fans. Fortunately, both Leeteuk and Kim Hee-chul were fine and went to medical check-ups later in Seoul after their activities. On April 27, 2017, Kim Hee-chul got into another minor car accident on his way to filming JTBC’s Ask Us Anything. Kim Hee-chul didn’t cancel and assured his parents and fans that he was fine. He went to the hospital for a check-up right after the filming ended.
Kim Hee-chul’s Car Accident Effect
Due to his major car accident, Kim Hee-chul can’t dance properly for any Super Junior dance. That’s the reason why Kim Hee-chul only appears sometimes while the group performs. He decided to promote Super Junior in other ways due to not being able to perform on stage.
Kim Hee-chul enlisted for military service on September 1, 2011, through the Nohn San training facility for a four-week training period. He worked as a public service employee for the Sung Dong district office during his 23-month service. Some netizens looked down on him for his enlistment position without even caring about his accident. Their inconsideration broke his fans’ hearts.
