Gwak Dowon Falls Asleep on Road While Drunk Driving, Fined 10 Million Won in Summary Order

Driving 11km with a Blood Alcohol Concentration of 0.158%

In September last year, actor Kwak Do-won (50, real name Kwak Byung-gyu) was caught sleeping on the road while driving under the influence and received a summary order with a fine of 10 million won.

According to the legal community on the 19th, the Jeju District Court Criminal Division 8 (Judge Kang Mi-hye) issued a summary order imposing a fine of 10 million won on Kwak, who was summarily prosecuted for violating the Road Traffic Act (drunk driving). This amount is the same as the prosecution's requested amount. A summary order is a procedure that imposes fines or penalties through written review instead of a formal trial.

Actor Kwak Do-won [Photo by Yonhap News]

Kwak is accused of drinking at a bar in Geumnung-ri, Hallim-eup, Jeju City, around 4 a.m. on September 25 last year, then driving his sports utility vehicle (SUV) about 11 km to an intersection near the Bongseong-ri office in Aewol-eup. He also gave a ride to A, who drank with him, dropping A off in Hyeopjae-ri, Hallim-eup, about 2 km from the bar. After dropping off A, he continued driving but fell asleep while waiting at a traffic light near the Bongseong-ri office intersection in Aewol-eup. This road is a one-lane one-way street.

The police responded to a resident's report around 5 a.m. that day, stating, "A car stopped on the road is not moving and is suspected of drunk driving," and found Kwak asleep inside the car. At the time of the arrest, Kwak's blood alcohol concentration was 0.158%, well above the license cancellation level (0.08%).

After the drunk driving incident became known, Kwak Do-won's agency, Mada Entertainment, stated, "Regardless of the reason, Kwak Do-won and the agency sincerely take full responsibility without any excuse. We apologize sincerely once again to everyone who has supported us and for causing trouble."

Kwak Do-won began his acting career as a theater actor in 1992 and appeared in films such as "The Wailing" (2016), "Steel Rain 1 and 2" (2017?2020), and "The Man Standing Next" (2020). Recently, he was scheduled to appear in director Kwak Kyung-taek's film "Firefighter," based on the 2001 Hongje-dong fire incident, and the TVING original series "Villains," but their release schedules were postponed due to his drunk driving incident. Currently, Kwak Do-won has suspended all activities and is in self-reflection.