Actor Son Seung-won gets 2 years in prison for fifth drunk driving offense

Actor Son Seung-won, previously known as the first celebrity charged under the "Yoon Chang-ho Act" for drunk driving, has received a harsher sentence in his appellate trial. The Seoul Western District Court's Criminal Appeals Division 1 sentenced him to two years in prison, an increase from the one-year sentence handed down in the initial trial.

The court cited Son's "poor criminal record" and the "gravity of his actions," including instructing his girlfriend to hide the car's black box SD card and providing false statements to the police. The court noted that driving approximately 7 kilometers while intoxicated and driving against traffic on the Gangbyeon Expressway for about 1 minute and 30 seconds posed a significant public danger. His repeated offenses, including a previous prison sentence for drunk driving and fleeing the scene, were also considered.

However, the court acknowledged Son's eventual admission of guilt, the fact that no actual traffic accident occurred, and that the SD card was submitted once the evidence concealment was discovered. These factors were considered mitigating circumstances.

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The criminal record is poor, and the nature of the crime is bad.

Son Seung-won was arrested in November of the previous year for driving under the influence and driving against traffic on the Gangbyeon Expressway. At the time, his blood alcohol content was more than double the legal limit for license revocation (0.08%). During the police investigation, he initially denied the charges, falsely claiming that the valet driver had left the car after an argument, and instructed his girlfriend to conceal the SD card.

The prosecution had requested a four-year sentence, similar to their initial plea, arguing that Son has a history of similar offenses and a high risk of reoffending. This marks Son's fifth drunk driving incident. In 2018, he was sentenced to one year and six months in prison for drunk driving and fleeing the scene after hitting a taxi in Seoul's Apgujeong-dong.

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Driving about 7 kilometers while drunk and driving against traffic on the Gangbyeon Expressway for about 1 minute and 30 seconds posed a significant public danger.