'Yoon Chang-ho Act' First Offender Actor Son Seungwon Sentenced to One Year in Prison for Fifth DUI

Caught Driving in the Wrong Direction on Gangbyeonbuk-ro While Intoxicated
Instructed Girlfriend to Conceal Evidence After Arrest

Actor Son Seungwon (36), known as the first celebrity to be punished under the stricter DUI penalty law known as the "Yoon Chang-ho Act," has been sentenced to prison and taken into custody in court after his fifth drunk driving offense. Son previously served a prison term after being convicted for a drunk driving accident in 2018.

On June 11, Kim Hyungseok, presiding judge of the 5th Criminal Division at Seoul Western District Court, sentenced Son to one year in prison for charges including drunk driving under the Road Traffic Act. Son's girlfriend, Ms. Kim, who was also tried for evidence tampering, received a suspended sentence of a 1.5 million won fine.

Actor Son Seungwon, who caused an accident while driving under the influence without a license, is seen leaving the detention hearing (arrest warrant review) held at the Seoul Central District Court on January 2, 2019. Photo by Yonhap News

Judge Kim stated, "The defendant drove while intoxicated and, after being arrested in the act, instructed his girlfriend to conceal evidence such as the dashcam. He drove in the wrong direction while heavily intoxicated, denied his actions after being stopped, and even gave false statements. These circumstances indicate the severity of the crime."

Previously, Son was indicted for driving his vehicle in the wrong direction for about two minutes on Seoul's Gangbyeonbuk-ro while severely intoxicated in November of last year.

At the time, Son's blood alcohol concentration was found to be more than twice the legal threshold for license revocation (0.08%). During the trial, it was revealed that Son had falsely told police during questioning that a substitute driver had left the car, and that he had tried to hide the vehicle's dashcam through his girlfriend.

Son had already been caught drunk driving four times prior to this. Notably, in 2018, after causing an accident while drunk driving, he was again found to have operated a vehicle with a blood alcohol level high enough for license revocation and was sentenced to one year and six months in prison.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.