On October 18, Hong Jang-won posted a handwritten letter on his YouTube channel 'Mjang Planning' community. In the letter, he began by saying, "I'm sorry. I have committed a grave sin. And by revealing it so late, I have committed an even greater sin."
Hong Jang-won disclosed, "On June 28, I was caught driving under the influence with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.065% while returning home. Although there was no accident or injury, legal proceedings are underway. The final outcome is expected in 1-2 months."
He further admitted, "In 2006, 19 years ago, I also received a license suspension and a fine. At that time, I was more foolish and did not fully grasp the severity of my actions, nor did I reflect on them. As a result, I have repeated the same mistake."
Hong Jang-won continued, "The greater sin is that I continued my broadcasting activities for over 50 days without honestly informing everyone about my DUI. I was afraid of betraying your trust and feared that my mistake would ruin the livelihoods of my staff and numerous cast members."
Hong Jang-won pledged to donate the earnings from his YouTube and broadcasting activities during the 50 days of silence following the incident. He declared, "I will cease all activities on my channel and broadcasting indefinitely to take time for reflection and self-restraint."
Born in 1979, Hong Jang-won is 45 years old and debuted as a comedian in the 9th open recruitment at SBS. He operates a comprehensive new media company 'Mjang Planning' under the name YouTube MC Jang-won, with a subscriber count reaching 700,000.
Below is the full text of Hong Jang-won's handwritten letter:
Dear viewers, this is MC Jang-won. I am truly sorry. I have committed a grave sin, and by revealing it only now, I have committed an even greater sin. I am here to inform you of the facts and sincerely apologize.
On June 28, I was caught driving under the influence near my home with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.065. There was no accident or injury, and I was alone when caught. Legal proceedings are currently underway, and the final result is expected in 1-2 months.
Despite knowing that DUI is an inexcusable crime, I committed it. As a broadcaster who lives on the trust and support of viewers, it was an action I should never have taken. Moreover, 19 years ago, in 2006, I received a license suspension and a fine. At that time, I was more foolish and did not fully grasp the severity of my actions, nor did I reflect on them. As a result, I have repeated the same mistake. I confess all my sins to you and apologize. I have committed an unforgivable mistake. I am truly sorry.
The greater sin, as mentioned earlier, is that I continued my broadcasting activities for over 50 days without honestly informing everyone about my DUI. I know this is a greater wrongdoing than the DUI itself. I was afraid of betraying the trust of those who supported me. I was afraid of being criticized by the world. I was afraid of revealing that my mistake had ruined the livelihoods of my staff and numerous cast members. In that fear, I forgot that trust with viewers is the most important thing and tried to hide my sin.
During the day, I pretended nothing was wrong while broadcasting, deceiving viewers and colleagues, and at night, I couldn't sleep due to fear and guilt. Yet, I couldn't muster the courage to tell you. As each day passed, my sin grew like a snowball. It was a cowardly and foolish act, an unforgivable sin. Just as you can't cover the sky with your palm, I knew it would eventually be revealed, yet I spent my time engulfed in fear and anxiety. I even thought, 'Maybe no one will find out.' But I couldn't stop the growing guilt.
After more than 50 days, I am finally confessing my sin. I sincerely apologize to everyone who was disappointed and shocked by my DUI and cowardly deception. My wrongdoing is entirely my personal deviation. I did not inform my family, acquaintances, or colleagues. They too became victims of my deception. I deeply apologize to them and earnestly ask that all criticism and reproach be directed at me.
I will do my utmost to use every possible means to help those who were harmed or hurt by me. As part of this, I will responsibly find a way to return the earnings from my YouTube and broadcasting activities over the past 50 days. Furthermore, I will cease all activities on my channel and broadcasting indefinitely to take time for reflection and self-restraint. Once again, I sincerely apologize to everyone who was disappointed and hurt by me. I am truly sorry.
Reporter Da-yeon Jeong, Ten Asia light@tenasia.co.kr