"I Ruined My 'My Youth'"...Son Seung-won Faces Public Outrage Even After Being Exempted from Military Service Due to 'Imprisonment' [Star Issue]

*This content was translated by AI.

'First celebrity under the Yoon Chang-ho Act' Son Seung-won (36) caused another drinking and driving scandal after serving his sentence, sparking public outrage.

According to JTBC Newsroom on the 14th, last November, Son Seung-won was caught by police for driving the Gangbyeon Expressway in the wrong direction for about two minutes while intoxicated with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.165%. He was subsequently brought to trial in February this year. At the sentencing hearing held on the 14th of this month at Seoul Western District Court, presided over by Judge Kim Hyeong-seok (Director) of the Criminal Division 5, the Prosecution Service requested a four-year prison sentence for Son Seung-won on charges including violation of the Road Traffic Act (drinking and driving).

On the 8th, just before this sentencing hearing, it was additionally revealed that Son Seung-won had driven without a license.

Moreover, during the police investigation, Son Seung-won was caught lying that a substitute driver had abandoned the car, and was also caught trying to hide the black box by ordering his girlfriend to do so.

Son Seung-won has a prior record of manipulating a case during his fourth drinking and driving incident in 2018 while driving without a license, telling a junior actor riding with him, "If I get caught this time, I'll be punished severely, so you say you were the one driving." Despite being sentenced to one year and six months in prison for the charge of causing injury through dangerous driving under the Act on Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, commonly known as the 'Yoon Chang-ho Act,' Son Seung-won committed drinking and driving again. Although he bore the heavy disgrace of being the 'first celebrity under the Yoon Chang-ho Act,' he showed no remorse.

Furthermore, Son Seung-won was exempted from military service after being classified as a fifth-grade wartime laborer, as he was sentenced to more than one year and six months in prison. Even though he served time in prison instead of enlisting, he repeatedly reoffended and lied, which is why he drew public outrage.

Son Seung-won also caused collateral damage to innocent works. His prominent roles in works such as 'My Youth' seasons 1 and 2, a hidden gem starring Park Eun-bin, and 'Hello, My Twenties!' starring Kim Jung-hyun, Lee Yi-kyung, and Jung In-sun, have made these works difficult to revisit.

Anger toward Son Seung-won is boiling over. Netizens expressed strong criticism, saying, "I really liked 'My Youth,' but I'm so annoyed," "Is he still doing this?" "You can't teach an old dog new tricks," "I thought he would do well after 'My Youth,' but he ruined his own fate," "Do you have to die if you can't drive? Taxis are everywhere, why do this? A potential murderer," "Even Hangul is wasted on him," "Because of him, I can't rewatch 'My Youth'," "'My Youth' is such a waste," "He asked a junior to take the fall and almost sent him to ruin, and now his girlfriend? He's beyond redemption," "Getting caught five times means he got away with many more. Drinking and driving is a habit," "'My Youth' role was such a waste. He was almost a perfect male friend character, and now he's like this. Can't even rewatch it," "Pathetic," "A walking weapon," "He ruined my 'My Youth'," "How long will he continue to be a nuisance to society?" "I can't even review 'My Youth'," "The law is meaningless," and more.

Due to Son Seung-won's endless reoffending, calls for 'light punishment' for drinking and driving have flared up again. The public expressed anger, saying, "At this point, he should get life imprisonment. Who knows when he'll kill someone, yet he's still out in society," "The punishment is too lenient, hence this mess," "He should be stripped of the ability to drive ever again." In fact, the recidivism rate for drinking and driving has remained at around 40% for ten years. Although penalties have been strengthened, the average rate has been 43.9% since the implementation of the 'Yoon Chang-ho Act,' showing little difference from the pre-implementation rate of 44.7% in 2018.

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*This content was translated by AI.