Prosecutors have indicted South Korean actor Lee Jae-ryong, aged 61, on charges of drunk driving, failure to report an accident, and obstructing a sobriety test. Seoul’s Gangnam Police Station forwarded the case to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office on March 18.
Details of the Incident
The episode unfolded on March 6 in the afternoon. After consuming alcohol at a bar in Seoul’s upscale Gangnam-gu Cheongdam-dong district, Lee struck a central divider while exiting the parking lot. He then proceeded to his residence, where officers conducted a sobriety test approximately three hours later, which returned positive results. An additional breathalyzer check at a nearby checkpoint confirmed intoxication.
Investigators report that Lee initially denied purchasing alcohol for an individual named Um Ju-un during the first questioning. However, he later confessed to consuming around four bottles through ‘alcohol hopping’—a tactic to evade detection by spacing out drinks.
During interrogation on March 10, Lee clarified his position, stating, ‘I bought one bottle intended for Jung-ryu-ju, but I ended up drinking about that amount myself—it was not alcohol hopping.’ Despite this, evidence emerged showing he acquired additional alcohol after the crash to skew the sobriety test results. Consequently, on March 13, authorities pursued direct indictment for tampering with the drunk driving evaluation.
Prior Offenses
This marks Lee’s second drunk driving violation in Gangnam. Back in 2003, authorities caught him operating a vehicle under the influence in the same area, leading to a face-to-face investigation. In 2019, he received a fine after driving a borrowed luxury vehicle from Gangnam-gu while intoxicated.
