Singer Nam Tae-hyun, who was caught by the police for drunk driving, complained of injustice.
On the 10th, Nam Tae-hyun's agency, Noname Music, issued a statement saying, "We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused due to Nam Tae-hyun's mistake."
He then explained the situation at the time of drunk driving. The agency said, "After Nam Tae-hyun finished a meeting with acquaintances in Gangnam around 3:30 a.m. on the 8th, he first moved his vehicle about 5 meters away from blocking the vehicles of his acquaintances who were waiting for the designated driver to leave and parked again. "I was trying to wait for the designated driver who called me. In the process, while Nam Tae-hyun was opening the door of the parked car, an accident occurred where Nam Tae-hyun's car collided with the side mirror of a passing taxi," he said. "Nam Tae-hyun suffered damage to the taxi driver immediately after the collision." “We looked into it and promised sufficient compensation for the damage suffered.”
He then explained, "However, contrary to what some media reported, Nam Tae-hyun did not drive tens of meters after colliding with the taxi, but moved about 5 meters forward and parked again." He continued, “There is no excuse for making a rash decision in the moment even though he was drunk.”
The agency offered an official apology, saying, "Nam Tae-hyun is deeply reflecting on his mistakes, and will sincerely participate in the police investigation and receive a fair punishment for his mistakes."
Nam Tae-hyun was caught by the police and booked on suspicion of drunk driving at 3:20 am on the 8th. At the time, Nam Tae-hyun's blood alcohol content was reported to be 0.114%, which is the level for license cancellation.
Below is the full official statement from Nam Tae-hyun's agency.
Hello, this is Noname Music, Nam Tae-hyun’s agency.
First, we apologize for the delay in expressing our official position to confirm the facts. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused due to the mistake of our artist Nam Tae-hyun.
After Nam Tae-hyun finished a meeting with acquaintances in Gangnam around 3:30 a.m. on March 8, 2023, he first moved his vehicle about 5 meters away from blocking the vehicles of his acquaintances who were waiting for the designated driver to leave and parked it again. I tried to wait for the designated driver who called me. During this process, while Nam Tae-hyun was opening the door of a parked car, an accident occurred where Nam Tae-hyun's car collided with the side mirror of a passing taxi. Nam Tae-hyun inspected the taxi driver's damage immediately after the collision and promised sufficient compensation for the damage suffered. However, contrary to what some media reported, Nam Tae-hyun did not drive tens of meters after colliding with the taxi, but moved about 5 meters forward and parked again. Even though I was drunk, there is no excuse for making a rash decision in the moment.
Nam Tae-hyun is deeply reflecting on his mistakes, and will sincerely participate in the police investigation and receive the punishment for his mistakes. I deeply apologize to everyone.
We also fully acknowledge responsibility for such an incident. We will do our best to resolve this incident and will be careful in managing our artists in the future to prevent something like this from happening again. Once again, we apologize for causing concern to everyone.
Choi Ji-ye, Ten Asia Reporter wisdomart@tenasia.co.kr