‘Drunk driving’ Kwak Do-won, summarily indicted with a fine of 10 million won

Actor Kwak Do-won (real name Kwak Byeong-gyu, 50), who was charged with drunk driving, was handed over to summary judgment.

On the 11th, the Jeju District Prosecutors' Office summarily indicted Kwak Do-won on charges of violating the Road Traffic Act (drunk driving) with a fine of 10 million won. A man in his 30s who was riding with Kwak Do-won at the time and was charged with aiding and abetting drunk driving was found not guilty.

Kwak Do-won was caught by the police in a drunken driving raid at around 4 a.m. on September 25 last year while sleeping in his SUV parked on a road near Eoeum Elementary School in Bongseong-ri, Aewol-eup, Jeju-si. The police responded to a resident's report that the car was not moving, found Kwak Do-won sleeping in the car, and took a breathalyzer test. At the time, the place where Kwak Do-won parked his car was a one-lane road with only one carriageway.

The blood alcohol content was at 0.158%, which is above the license revocation level (0.08%). Kwak Do-won was found to have traveled 11km from a bar in Geumneung-ri, Hallim-eup to an intersection near the Bongseong-ri office in Aewol-eup.

At the time, Kwak Do-won's agency, Mada Entertainment, officially apologized, saying, "We are fully aware of our responsibility without any excuses. We apologize for causing concern and once again sincerely apologize for causing controversy."

Kwak Do-won attracted attention by causing a drunk driving scandal while living in Jeju. Kwak Do-won's life in Jeju was revealed through MBC's 'I Live Alone' in 2020. At the time, Kwak Do-won expressed satisfaction with living in Jeju, saying, "I signed a contract for a 2-year age limit" and "there are no disadvantages to living in Jeju."

Meanwhile, summary indictment is a procedure in which the prosecution requests the court to impose a fine or fine through a written hearing only, instead of a formal trial. If the parties or the court do not express their intention to refer the case to a formal trial, the sentence will be confirmed as is.

Choi Ji-ye, Ten Asia Reporter wisdomart@tenasia.co.kr