According to JTBC’s ‘Newsroom’ on the 14th, Son Seung-won attended his first trial for a drunk driving accident and fleeing the scene (hit-and-run under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes). Prosecutors have requested a prison sentence of 4 years.
Last November, Son Seung-won was caught for his fifth drunk driving offense. After drinking in Apgujeong, he got behind the wheel around 6 AM and drove the wrong way on Gangbyeonbuk-ro for about two minutes. His blood alcohol concentration was 0.165%, which is more than double the limit for license revocation.
Son Seung-won had previously submitted multiple apology letters and statements to investigators, claiming he would sell his car to prevent repeat offenses and visit a hospital to quit drinking. However, instead of showing true remorse, he was spotted driving the very car involved in the drunk driving incident. He had been drinking with acquaintances at a bar in Hannam-dong until the early morning hours.
This isn’t the first time he’s been caught in a lie. During his fourth drunk driving incident in 2018, he fled the scene of an accident and falsely told police that a passenger had been the one driving.
A legal expert commented on the punishment, stating, “Beyond the act of drunk driving itself, the fact that he lied about his remorse makes the nature of the crime even worse. It is only natural that the unlicensed driving will lead to further investigation.”
In 2018, Son Seung-won drew attention as the first celebrity indicted under the ‘Yoon Chang-ho Act,’ which strengthened penalties for drunk driving. While the first trial found him not guilty of dangerous driving causing injury, the second trial delivered a guilty verdict, leading him to serve 1 year and 6 months in prison.
