Actor Son Seung-won, who previously caused public outrage for drunk driving, is back in court after another alleged DUI — and the controversy has exploded again.
On the 14th, prosecutors requested a four-year prison sentence for Son on charges of hit-and-run resulting in injury under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes. The verdict is expected next month.
The incident occurred in November last year. Reports state that Son was caught by police after allegedly driving the wrong way on Seoul’s Gangbyeonbuk-ro with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.165% — far above the threshold for license revocation.
His actions during the investigation fueled even more backlash. Right after the crash, Son reportedly claimed, "A substitute driver left the car here," but it later emerged that he had messaged an acquaintance to retrieve the black box storage device. That device was reportedly removed from a police station and then resubmitted.
Even more shocking, additional violations surfaced right before trial. Just six days ahead of his first hearing, Son allegedly drove again — this time without a valid license — intensifying public criticism.
Son’s record of DUIs has been flagged repeatedly. In 2018, he was arrested for crashing into a taxi while heavily intoxicated and fleeing the scene. He then drove under the influence again while his license was revoked, causing another accident and igniting nationwide anger. He became the first celebrity case sentenced under the so-called ‘Yoon Chang-ho Act.’ He ultimately received a prison sentence of one year and six months.
In court, Son pleaded for leniency, saying, "Please judge me only by this case." But with repeated offenses and fresh violations coming to light, public opinion remains ice-cold.
Debuting in 2009 with the musical Spring Awakening, Son went on to appear in the dramas Hello Monster, My Lawyer, Mr. Jo, Hello, My Twenties!, and Welcome to Waikiki.