The South Korean was on the way to the National Training Center where he has been training for the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games when the incident happened.

Hwang, who recently won the men's 200 metres freestyle bronze at the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, is being accused of hitting a senior citizen around 80 years of age with his side view mirror on Sunday (August 13).

According to the police in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province, the elderly man avoided injuries despite the collision shattering Hwang's side mirror.

According to a report on South Korean news agency Yonhap, the 20-year-old two-time short course world champion retuned to the scene half an hour after the accident to report to the police.  

Police officials in Jincheon are investigating the case to find out more details.

Meanwhile, an official from Korea Swimming Federation (KSF) said that Hwang had settled the case and covered the medical expenses of the victim.

"Hwang told us he tried to avoid hitting a jaywalker and didn't realize at first he'd caused any accident," a KSF official was quoted as saying by Yonhap.

"He said he returned to the scene after discovering that his side-view mirror had been damaged."

Hwang became the first South Korean to win consecutive world medals, having claimed the men's 200m freestyle silver at the 2022 World Championships in Budapest.

He is tipped as the favourite for the 100m and 200m freestyle titles in Hangzhou.

If convicted of a crime, athletes can be prevented from wearing South Korean colours at international events, depending on the severity of punishment.

However, Hwang is not expected to be ruled out of Hangzhou 2022, according to the KSF official.