Former Kpop Idol Receives A 1 Year Sentence For Drunk Driving During First Trial, Why?
Former WINNER member Nam Tae Hyun has been sentenced to prison in the first trial after causing a drunk driving accident while still under a suspended sentence for drug use charges.
On the afternoon of the 9th of April, the Seoul Western District Court’s Criminal Division 11 (Presiding Judge Yang Eun Sang) sentenced Nam Tae Hyun, who was indicted on charges of violating the Road Traffic Act (drunk driving and speeding), to 1 year in prison and a fine of 1 million won. However, the court did not detain him in custody, determining there was no risk of evidence destruction or flight.
Nam Tae Hyun was brought to trial for driving under the influence in the early morning of April 27 last year near Dongjak Bridge on Gangbyeonbuk-ro toward Ilsan in Seoul. While heavily intoxicated, he drove at 182 km/h and crashed into the central divider. Fortunately, there were no casualties. At the time, his blood alcohol concentration was reported to be 0.122%, exceeding the license revocation level of 0.08%.
Previously, on the 12th of last month, prosecutors requested a sentence of 1 year and 6 months in prison along with a fine of 1 million won, stating that “he had previously received a punishment exceeding a fine for violating the Road Traffic Act and committed the offense again.”
Meanwhile, Nam Tae Hyun had already been sentenced in January 2024 to 1 year in prison with 2 years of probation for drug use charges in the first trial and did not appeal. In addition, he was involved in another drunk driving accident in March 2023 and received a summary order of a 6 million won fine in July of that year.
Source: (A)
