Korean actress Kim Sae-ron was sentenced to a fine of 20 million won (about $15,225) for drunk driving in Seoul in May last year.
During a trial on April 5, the Seoul Central District Court found her guilty and imposed the fine, which is equivalent to the maximum amount allowed under the law, on the 22-year-old actress for violation of Korea’s Road Traffic Act.
After leaving the courtroom, he told reporters that she was “sorry.”
“The fact that I was driving drunk is wrong, so I have nothing to say about it,” she said.
She added, "There are so many articles about other things that are not true, so I just can't really explain anything. I'm scared."
Korean actress Kim Sae-ron after attending the trial on April 5 (Screenshot from MBC video)
CCTV footage showing Kim Sae-ron's car hitting a transformer in Seoul on May 18, 2022 (Screenshot from YTN video)
Kim Sae-ron, who starred in the drama “The Great Shaman Ga Doo-shim” and movie “A Man from Nowhere,” was charged by the prosecution for drunk driving.
The incident happened on May 18 last year when a drunk Kim Sae-ron was driving in Cheongdam, Gangnam in Seoul.
She crashed her car and hit a guardrail, tree and a transformer. When she hit the transformer, it caused a power outage affecting 57 business establishments in the area for three hours.
After ramming the transformer, Kim Sae-ron 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 result showed that her blood alcohol content (BAC) was 0.2 percent at the day of her accident, which, under Korea’s law, merited the revocation of her driver’s license.
In July last year, the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul sent Kim Sae-ron to the prosecution without detention on charges of drunk driving and taking no action after an accident in violation of the law.
Under the 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.”
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 [about $8,000) won but not exceeding 20 million won [about $16,000].”