Police added a charge of obstructing a breath test against actor Lee Jae-ryong, 62, after finding that he attended a drinking gathering right after the crash and attempted the so-called "alcohol-rinsing tactic."
The Gangnam Police Station in Seoul said on the 13th that Lee, who is accused of drunken driving and failing to take measures after an accident (hit-and-run) under the Road Traffic Act, was additionally booked on a charge of obstructing a breath test.
Lee Jae-ryong is accused of driving under the influence and hitting a median strip before fleeing at around 11 p.m. on the 6th near Samseongjungang Station in Gangnam District, Seoul.
He was found to have parked his car at his home in Cheongdam-dong right after the crash and then had more drinks with acquaintances at a nearby restaurant. Police believe Lee attempted the alcohol-rinsing tactic at that gathering by drinking more after the accident to make it difficult to determine his blood alcohol concentration at the time of the crash.
Police apprehended Lee at an acquaintance's home at about 2 a.m. on the 7th, roughly three hours after the crash. His blood alcohol concentration measured at the time was reportedly at a license-suspension level.
Lee Jae-ryong initially denied driving under the influence but admitted the allegations, saying he drank "four shots of soju and drove, and I thought I had only lightly grazed the median strip."
In a police interview on the 10th, he was also said to have explained that he "drank about one glass of distilled liquor in a beer glass, but it was a previously scheduled gathering and it was not an attempt at alcohol rinsing."
Police plan to apply the Widmark formula to estimate his blood alcohol concentration at the time of the crash and will question those present about how the additional drinking took place.
The current Road Traffic Act stipulates that using alcohol or pharmaceuticals for the purpose of making a breath test difficult is punishable by one to five years in prison or a fine of 5 million to 20 million won. The provision was introduced after the case of singer Kim Ho-joong, who sought to evade punishment with the alcohol-rinsing tactic following a drunken driving crash in 2024, and has been in effect since June last year.