SEOUL - A woman in Gimpo was killed in the early hours of Monday (May 6) after stepping out of her car on a highway and getting struck by two vehicles.

Gimpo police said the victim, 28, was known for her roles in local TV drama series, but did not name the woman, The Korea Herald reported on Wednesday (May 8). But she was later identified by media as Han Ji-seong.

"Actress Han Ji-seong has left our side after an unfortunate accident. She was a great actress full of passion for acting. She was an actress with a bright future, and it is unfortunate that she passed away so suddenly. Her family set up her mortuary with their hearts filled with deep sadness," Soompi entertainment news site cited a source close to the late actress as saying.

The accident happened on Incheon Airport Expressway.

In video footage retrieved by police from the dashcam in the woman's Mercedes-Benz C200, she was seen stopping in the middle lane of the Seoul-bound three-way expressway with the emergency lights on. She then stepped out of the car and moved to the back of the vehicle.

She was soon struck by a taxi, followed by a sports utility vehicle (SUV).

The actress died in the ambulance from head injuries while being taken to a nearby hospital, The Korea Herald reported.

The actress's husband, who had been sitting in the passenger seat before the collisions, said they had stopped because he needed to relieve himself.

As he got out of the car and walked towards trees on the side of the road to take a leak, a car in the right-most lane was forced to slow down to avoid running him down. That, in turn, caused the taxi that was coming up from behind to swerve abruptly and knock down the victim, police said.

The taxi and SUV drivers have been booked without detention on charges of death resulting from a traffic accident.

Police are investigating why the actress had come to a stop in the middle lane instead of pulling over on the side of the road, and why she had stepped out of the car in the first place. They are looking into whether she had been under the influence of alcohol at the time.

According to Soompi, Han made her debut as part of girl group B.Dolls in 2010 and later pursued a career as an actress. Her acting projects include TV drama Second To Last Love and movie One Punch which was released last month in South Korea.