Actor Song Young-kyu has been embroiled in a controversy over drunk driving. Despite a month passing since his detection, he failed to inform about his performances, suffering repercussions from theater to drama.
On the 25th, the fact that Song Young-kyu was caught drunk driving became known belatedly. On that day, a media outlet reported that on the 19th of last month, Song Young-kyu was apprehended while driving drunk, approximately 5 kilometers from a certain place in Giheung-gu, Yongin City, Gyeonggi Province.
Song Young-kyu is reported to have been apprehended through a witness's report. Upon receiving the report, the police who arrived conducted a breath test, which revealed a blood alcohol concentration level (0.08%) equivalent to a driver's license suspension.
Afterward, Song Young-kyu claimed in an interview with another media outlet that he had called for a designated driver while meeting another acquaintance, and that the designated driver drove while under the influence of alcohol after taking him home, with just a short distance remaining.
However, his apology was insufficient to reverse the damage. Song Young-kyu, an actor from Seoul Arts College, has worked extensively in numerous productions, mainly in supporting roles. Currently, he is involved in three works: the play 'Shakespeare in Love' and the dramas 'The Defects' and 'Try.'
Moreover, in the case of 'Shakespeare in Love,' his performance is scheduled for this evening (25th). Unable to cancel the show or find a substitute cast on the day of, the production team has inevitably decided to proceed with his performance. However, discussions regarding his future performance schedule are ongoing.
'The Defects' on ENA and the new Friday-Saturday drama 'Try' on SBS are both pre-produced dramas that have completed filming. Although Song Young-kyu's role is not a leading one, his character has been assigned lines necessary for plot development, making it impossible to cut him out entirely. Both parties are considering a policy to edit down his appearances while retaining only the essential dialogue for the narrative.
Moreover, regarding 'Try,' it has been reported that the broadcast material for this week has been forwarded to Netflix as part of the agreement between SBS and Netflix. Due to the standard procedure for global OTT platforms involving multilingual subtitle work, it is common for works to be sent in advance. For this reason, editing out Song Young-kyu's segments from this week's broadcast is not possible.
However, Song Young-kyu's drunk driving incident occurred on the 19th of last month, and over a month has passed since then. Although he has admitted that his judgment was impaired due to alcohol, criticism is growing regarding his failure to promptly inform about his performances and the resulting impact on those around him.
[Photo] OSEN DB, various work posters provided.
[OSEN]