Kim Sae-ron admits to drunk driving, the downfall of an innocent child actor

《Kim Ji-won’s Net Reason》
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I thought that actress Kim Sae-ron, who left a deep impression on the public with her powerful acting at a young age, had grown into a full-fledged adult. Kim Sae-ron continued her acting career even after becoming an adult, but recently she caused great disappointment to the public. Because he caused a drunk driving accident. Kim Sae-ron, who caused an accident while driving while intoxicated, was eventually sentenced to a fine by the prosecution.

On the morning of the 8th, Judge Lee Hwan-ki of the 4th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court held the first trial date for Kim Sae-ron, who was indicted on charges of violating the Road Traffic Act (drunk driving), and her passenger, Mr. A, who was also indicted on charges of aiding and abetting drunk driving.

Kim Sae-ron got behind the wheel while intoxicated at around 8 a.m. on May 18 last year at Hakdong intersection in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. He was put on trial on charges of causing an accident in which he hit a street tree and a transformer several times.

Due to this accident, the area lost power for approximately 4 hours and 30 minutes. As a result, credit card payments were not accepted, causing damage to the surrounding commercial area. Afterwards, Kim Sae-ron reportedly visited stores to apologize and pay compensation.

Kim Sae-ron refused to have her blood alcohol level measured by the police immediately after the accident, and the police took her blood at a nearby hospital. According to a blood sampling analysis conducted by the National Institute of Forensic Science, Kim Sae-ron's blood alcohol content was 0.2%, which is above the license revocation level (0.08%).

Kim Sae-ron, who appeared in court looking somewhat haggard, admitted to all the charges. He said, “This will never happen again. I am truly sorry. I am reflecting.”

The prosecution pointed out, "He drove while drunk and caused an accident while his blood alcohol level was very high, but he fled without taking any action, so his crime is very serious." However, considering that he admits to all his crimes and that it is his first offense, we request a fine of 20 million won.”

Kim Sae-ron began her acting career in 2009 with the movie 'The Traveler'. I was cast in this film produced by director Lee Chang-dong, overcoming a competition rate of 1,000 to 1. It moved the audience by delicately expressing the emotions of a child who was abandoned by his father at the young age of 9 and waiting for adoption. When 'The Traveler' was invited to the Cannes Film Festival, Kim Sae-ron became the youngest Korean actor to enter the Cannes Film Festival. Kim Sae-ron visited the Cannes Film Festival again with the movie 'Doheeya' (2014) and walked the Cannes red carpet twice before she turned 15.

However, Kim Sae-ron, who had a drunk driving accident, destroyed the trust and reputation she had built since she was a child actor. As I watch Kim Sae-ron's downfall, I miss her pure, loving, and affectionate acting as a child even more.‘The Man From Nowhere’ (2010) | Netflix, TVING, Wave

'The Man From Nowhere' is a work that depicts the process of former special agent Tae-sik (played by Won Bin), who lost his wife and lives a lonely life running a pawn shop, to rescue So-mi (played by Kim Sae-ron), the girl next door who has disappeared. It was a film that dealt with heavy topics such as drug smuggling, organ trafficking, and child kidnapping, and made us aware of the seriousness of these crimes.

‘The Man From Nowhere’ is a work that helped Kim Sae-ron become widely known. She left the audience in awe as she portrayed the inner self of an abandoned girl who goes back and forth between sadness and innocence. Kim Sae-ron won the Best New Actress Award at the 8th Korean Film Awards for 'The Man From Nowhere'.‘The Queen’s Classroom’ (2013) | wave

'The Queen's Classroom' is a drama that tells the story of a female teacher (played by Go Hyun-jung) with a difficult and cold personality who takes up her position as an elementary school homeroom teacher. It is an original Japanese drama. Kim Sae-ron plays the role of Kim Seo-hyeon, a cool-headed girl who doesn't go to academy but is always first in her class. Although he is a prim bookworm who reads novels rather than hanging out with friends, he is not afraid to protest against things that are not right. He is also a person who has closed his heart to relationships with his friends due to past trauma.

In the scene where she appears with Go Hyun-jung, Kim Sae-ron did not lose out to Go Hyun-jung's charisma and gave a calm and strong performance. At the production presentation at the time, Kim Sae-ron also showed a dignified appearance, saying, “I have played a lot of dark roles,” and “But I think an actor should be able to play any role.” Kim Sae-ron won the Child Actor Award at the 2013 MBC Drama Awards for ‘The Queen’s Classroom.’‘Snowy Road’ (2017) | Coupang Play

'Snowy Road' is a work about the heartbreaking friendship between two girls, Jong-bun (played by Kim Hyang-gi) and Yeong-ae (played by Kim Sae-ron), who were born into different fates during the Japanese colonial era but had to live through the same tragedy, and dealt in depth with the comfort women issue. Kim Sae-ron played Young-ae, the daughter of a rich family who goes to study in Japan at the end of the Japanese colonial period in 1944.

Kim Sae-ron filmed this work when she was 14 years old. The fear and despair of the comfort women who were trampled by the Japanese military were expressed with their whole bodies. Kim Sae-ron said, "Before filming 'Eyes', I wasn't old enough to be interested in social issues. However, through this work, I studied a lot about the comfort women issue, and learned a lot of new things." “It’s no longer easy to pass by them,” he said. Kim Sae-ron won the Best Actress Award at the Golden Feather Festival, one of China's three major film festivals, for 'Snow'.

Kim Ji-won, Ten Asia reporter bella@tenasia.co.kr