Actor Lee Jae-ryong (62) was found to have tried the so-called "sultagi" after a drunken driving accident, and police applied an additional charge.
On the 13th, police said the Seoul Gangnam Police Station applied an additional charge of obstructing a breathalyzer test to Lee Jae-ryong, who faces charges of drunken driving and failure to take action after an accident under the Road Traffic Act, and is currently investigating.
Lee Jae-ryong is accused of driving his vehicle into a center divider and leaving the scene on a road near Cheongdam Station in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, at around 11 p.m. on the 6th. The center divider was damaged in the crash, but there were no casualties.
Immediately after the accident, Lee Jae-ryong is said to have parked his car at his Cheongdam-dong residence, visited an acquaintance's home, and was arrested by police at around 2 a.m. the next day. At the time, his blood alcohol concentration was reported to be at the level warranting license suspension.
Meanwhile, controversy has grown after indications emerged that there was another drinking gathering after the accident. According to reports, after parking his car at home following the accident, Lee Jae-ryong walked about 20 minutes to a restaurant and joined acquaintances. At that gathering, one bottle of distilled liquor and two servings of meat were reportedly ordered.
Police are focusing on whether there was an attempt at the so-called "sultagi" to make breath testing difficult, based on the facts that acquaintances gathered at the restaurant immediately after the accident and that the amount of food ordered was not large.
"Sultagi" refers to the act of drinking additional alcohol after a drunken driving accident to make it difficult to accurately measure blood alcohol concentration at the time of the accident. The act was included as a punishable offense after the 2024 singer Kim Ho-joong case and the enactment of the so-called "Kim Ho-joong prevention law," and has been in effect since June last year.
Earlier, Lee Jae-ryong first denied drinking immediately after the accident, then reversed his statement to say, "I drank four glasses of soju." However, during police questioning he reportedly explained that the additional drinking at the restaurant was simply a prearranged plan and was not an attempt at "sultagi."
Meanwhile, Lee Jae-ryong has a past record of police investigations related to alcohol. In 2003 he was booked on charges of drunken driving and refusing a breathalyzer test and had his license revoked, and in 2019 he received a suspended indictment after damaging a bowling alley sign while intoxicated.
[Photo] OSEN DB
[OSEN]