Decision on Detention of Jang Je-won's Son, Rapper Noel, Today... Charges of Refusing Breathalyzer Test and Assaulting Police

If Sentenced to Imprisonment Over a Fine, Probation Will Be Revoked

Rapper Noel, son of Jang Je-won, a member of the People Power Party in the National Assembly. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] The decision on whether to detain Jang Yong-jun (21, stage name Noel), son of People Power Party lawmaker Jang Je-won, who is accused of refusing a breathalyzer test and assaulting a police officer under suspicion of drunk driving, will be made on the 12th.

Judge Moon Seong-gwan, head of the warrant division at the Seoul Central District Court, will conduct a pre-arrest detention hearing (warrant substantive examination) for Jang, who is charged with refusal to take a breathalyzer test and obstruction of official duties, starting at 10:30 a.m. on the same day.

Jang is accused of driving a car and causing a collision with another vehicle around 10:30 p.m. on the 18th of last month at the intersection near St. Mary's Hospital in Banpo-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, and then refusing the police officer's request for a breathalyzer test while headbutting the officer.

Earlier, the police applied for an arrest warrant for Jang on the 1st on charges including violation of the Road Traffic Act (refusal to take a breathalyzer test and driving without a license), injury, and obstruction of official duties.

Subsequently, the prosecution interviewed Jang's side according to the 'suspect interview before arrest warrant application' procedure introduced in July this year, and then requested the arrest warrant.

The police and prosecution did not apply drunk driving charges to Jang. Article 148-2, Paragraph 2 of the Road Traffic Act stipulates that refusal to take a breathalyzer test is punishable by imprisonment for not less than one year and not more than five years or a fine of not less than 5 million won and not more than 20 million won.

In the case of drunk driving, a person with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.2 percent or higher is punishable by imprisonment for not less than two years and not more than five years or a fine, and a person with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or higher but less than 0.2 percent is punishable by imprisonment for not less than one year and not more than two years or a fine.

Meanwhile, Jang was previously sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison with a 2-year probation last June for drunk driving and 'driver substitution' charges, and in April this year, he was also sent to prosecution for assaulting a pedestrian in Busan.

Article 63 of the Criminal Act (Effectiveness of Probation) states, "If a person who has been sentenced to probation is sentenced to imprisonment without prison labor or heavier punishment for a crime intentionally committed during the probation period and the judgment is finalized, the probation sentence loses its effect."

If Jang is sentenced to imprisonment for the current charges of refusal to take a breathalyzer test and others, the previously suspended sentence of 1 year and 6 months imprisonment will also be enforced.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.