Singer Nam Taehyun, on Probation for Drug Use, Admits to Drunk Driving Charges at First Trial: "I Am an Office Worker"

Blood Alcohol Level of 0.122%... Accident Occurred During Probation
"All Charges Are True," Admitted in Court

Nam Taehyun (31), a singer formerly of the group WINNER, admitted to all charges of drunk driving at his first trial held on December 11.

Nam Taehyun, singer formerly of WINNER. Photo by Yonhap News

On December 11, Judge Heo Junseo, the presiding judge of the 11th Criminal Division at the Seoul Western District Court, held the first hearing for Nam on charges of violating the Road Traffic Act.

At the hearing, Nam appeared in court with his long yellow hair tied back and wearing a black long padded coat. When the court asked, "Do you admit to all the charges?" he briefly replied, "Yes." When asked about his occupation, he stated, "I am currently an office worker."

Nam is accused of driving under the influence with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.122% near Dongjak Bridge on the Gangbyeonbuk-ro in Seoul, heading toward Ilsan, on April 27. This figure is significantly higher than the license revocation threshold of 0.08%. At the time, he crashed into the central divider while speeding at up to 182 km/h in an 80 km/h speed limit zone. There were no casualties, and he was not injured.

He had previously been sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for two years, for drug use in January 2024, and was still under probation at the time of the accident. Police requested an arrest warrant when charging him, but the court dismissed it, stating, "There is no risk of evidence destruction."

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