K-actress Kim Sae-ron's drunk driving case to be sent to prosecution; found to have 0.2% blood alcohol level
The police will send Korean actress Kim Sae-ron’s drunk driving case to the prosecution after wrapping up their investigation.
On May 18, an intoxicated Kim Sae-ron, star of the drama “The Great Shaman Ga Doo-shim” and movie “A Man from Nowhere,” was driving in Cheongdam, Gangnam in Seoul when she crashed and hit a guardrail, tree and a transformer.


After ramming the transformer, she drove away but was caught by the police. She refused to take a breathalyzer and asked the police for her to undergo a blood alcohol test and was taken to a nearby hospital. Her blood sample was sent to the National Forensic Service for analysis.
The analysis revealed that her blood alcohol content (BAC) was 0.2 percent at the day of her accident, which, under Korea’s law, merits the revocation of her driver’s license.
On the prosecution level, it will be decided whether to indict her or not for driving under the influence.
Kim Sae-ron’s agency, Gold Medalist, revealed her BAC and said she will take responsibility.
“Kim diligently underwent police investigation for the last four days due to her alleged drunk driving and the following accidents, and her blood alcohol level came out to be an estimated 0.2 percent, which is high enough to have her license evoked.” the agency said, Korea JoongAng Daily reported.
The agency added, “Kim is deeply regretting her evident wrongdoings. the compensation for the accident are ongoing and she’ll do her best until the end to take full responsibility for the damages she caused.”
“Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) is a measure of alcohol in the blood as a percentage. It is calculated in grams per 100 mL of blood, so a BAC of 0.08 means your blood is 0.08% alcohol by volume,” according to the University of Toledo website.
The American Addiction Centers website stated that under a BAC of 0.2 to 0.29 percent, “Confusion, feeling dazed, and disorientation are common. Sensations of pain will change, so if you fall and seriously hurt yourself, you may not notice, and you are less likely to do anything about it.”
It added, “Nausea and vomiting are likely to occur, and the gag reflex will be impaired, which could cause choking or aspirating on vomit. Blackouts begin at this BAC, so you may participate in events that you don’t remember.”
Under the Korean law Road Traffic Act, “The threshold for the state of intoxication at which a person is prohibited from driving a motor vehicle, etc. . . . shall be not less than 0.03 percent of blood-alcohol concentration.”
With her 0.2 percent BAC, Kim Sae-ron may face imprisonment and fine.
Under Article 148-2 of the Act, “A person whose blood alcohol content is not less than 0.2 percent shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for not less than 2 years but not more than 5 years or by a fine not less than 10 million .”
Due to the drunk driving incident, Kim Sae-ron withdrew from the SBS drama “Trolley.” She also stopped filming for the Netflix drama “Hunting Dogs” after the incident.