K-pop artist Lim Youngmin, who left boy band AB6IX after figuring in a drunk driving incident, was discharged from the military.
He wrote a letter upon his completion of his military service on May 2 and apologized for the drunk driving incident.
“Neither too slow nor too fast, one year and six months have passed; and now I have been discharged from the military as of May 2, 2022. Thank you to all those who waited and continued to encourage me so that I could do well in the military,” he said, according to SBS News.
He added, “During my service, I met good seniors, colleagues, juniors, executives. It was a valuable time where I received a lot of help and was able to learn a lot.”
“I also had a lot of time to self-reflect during my military service. I had many realization while thinking about how flawed of a person I was, and how much damage and hurt my wrongdoing must have caused. Once again, I sincerely apologize to all those who were affected and got hurt because of me,” said Lim Youngmin.
According to him, “I am sorry and thankful to those who have waited for me. I will think carefully before acting from now on. I will work hard to become a better person day by day, and greet you with a better version of me. Thank you.
Lim Youngmin gained recognition when he became a contestant on the reality audition show “Produce 101” season 2 in 2017, which gave birth to the boy band Wanna One.
He debuted in AB6IX in May 2019 together with “Produce 101” alum Kim Dong-hyun and ex-Wanna One members Park Woo-jin and Lee Dae-hwi.
However, on May 31, 2020, Lim Youngmin was caught drunk driving by the police. He drove his car after drinking alcohol with close friends.
“On the way back to the dorm, he was detected by the police with exceeding blood alcohol content and his license has been revoked,” his agency Brand New Music said, reported Osen then.
The incident occurred just as AB6IX were supposed to release their album “Vivid” on June 8 but it was postponed to June 29.
His agency said Youngmin would only be on hiatus and that AB6IX would perform with four members but it announced on June 8, 2020 that Youngmin would leave the group.
“After the thorough discussion with AB6IX member Lim Youngmin, our company respected his wish to not cause further harm to the group, and from which we decided that Lim Youngmin would no longer be a member of AB6IX, starting from today,” the agency said.