Comedian Kim Dae-beom, angered by two years of persistent drunk driving rumors, once again issued an explanation.
On the 6th, Kim Dae-beom wrote on his social media, "There are still people leaving comments saying I'm someone who drove drunk…(how many times do I have to explain this?)".
He went on to stress, "I have never driven under the influence of alcohol." He said, "Two years ago comedian K drove drunk. He was born in '79 and an article said he did military comedy, so because I was born in '79 and K did military content, I was suspected, and not just suspected but was simply labeled as someone who drove drunk and received malicious comments."
He added, "So I wrote an explanatory post, and the comedian Kwon Seong-ho, who actually drove drunk, appeared on my YouTube channel and apologized to me and uploaded a video apologizing to viewers, but no one paid attention to the explanatory video."
In particular, he said, "Again, I did not drive drunk. And of course I will never do it in the future."
In July 2024 it was reported that a comedian in his 40s, A, was booked without detention at the Incheon western police station on charges of drunk driving under the Road Traffic Act. On July 14 at around 1:30 a.m., A is accused of driving an SUV while intoxicated near the Seoknam on‑ramp to Incheondae-ro in Seoknam‑dong, Seo‑gu, Incheon, and crashing into a guardrail.
Police arrived at the scene and measured A's blood alcohol concentration, which was at or above the license‑revocation level of 0.08%. In addition, it was reported that A debuted in 2004 and appeared on a terrestrial open comedy program. After the report, some netizens began guessing who A was based on the clues "in his 40s," "debuted in 2004," and "appeared on a terrestrial open comedy program." When information that he was from SBS's Laughter was added, netizens' speculation poured in.
Eventually the backlash landed on Kim Dae-beom, and he directly issued a statement saying, "It's not me, the 40‑something K comedian. My car is not an SUV. And these days I have atopic dermatitis so I can't drink alcohol." He added, "Those of you leaving speculative malicious comments acting like a smart netizen investigation team, please conduct a proper investigation," and pointed out past speculative malicious comments, saying, "In the past people would comment, 'You got divorced so you don't appear on TV and are doing YouTube.' I have never been married. And before people said, 'You never did military service but you're doing military YouTube.' I read that comment at reserve training. My military serial number is April 1999; I served two years and two months."
Kim Dae-beom said, "And someone also commented, 'He stole a foreign car and stopped appearing on TV,' right? That's not me either. It's the same K family name, but I'm Kim and that friend is Gwak," and added, "Stop leaving speculative comments. I haven't been able to drink for more than 40 days because of atopic dermatitis. I really want to recover soon and gulp down a draft beer."
Later it was revealed that A was Kwon Seong-ho, and Kwon Seong-ho appeared on Kim Dae‑ho's YouTube channel to apologize. But rumors such as drunk driving still follow him, causing regret.
[Photo] OSEN DB
[OSEN]