Actor Lee Jae-ryong (62), suspected of causing a drunk-driving crash and fleeing, leaves the Seoul Gangnam Police Station on the 10th, four days after the accident, after being questioned. Yonhap News Agency

As actor Lee Jae-ryong, suspected of fleeing after a drunk-driving crash, was questioned by police, allegations emerged that he attended multiple drinking gatherings before the crash.

On the 10th, Lee appeared at the Seoul Gangnam Police Station as a suspect on charges of drunk driving and failing to take necessary measures after the crash under the Road Traffic Act. Dressed in a black suit, he apologized after about four hours of questioning, saying, “I am truly sorry for causing concern to many people with my wrongful actions.”

Asked whether he admitted to drunk driving, he replied, “I had already admitted it right away,” and regarding why he left the scene immediately after the crash, he stated, “I did not properly recognize the accident at the time.” He left without answering a question about the so-called ‘sultagi’ suspicion, namely, ‘Why did you go to the home of an acquaintance after the crash?’

At around 11 p.m. on the 6th, Lee allegedly drove under the influence and struck the center divider on a road near Cheongdam Station in Gangnam District, Seoul, then drove off. Despite an impact strong enough to damage tens of meters of guardrail, he left the scene without taking any measures and was arrested by police about three hours later at the nearby home of an acquaintance.

At the time, his blood alcohol concentration was found to be at a level warranting license suspension. When apprehended, he reportedly testified, “I had not been drinking when driving, and I drank at the home of an acquaintance after the crash,” but the next day, through his attorney, he acknowledged drunk driving, saying, “I drank four shots of soju before the accident.” Regarding the ‘sultagi’ suspicion, he explained, “I attended an engagement that had been scheduled before the accident occurred.”

However, there are claims that his “four shots of soju” explanation may also be false. According to an MBN report on the 10th, the police investigation reportedly identified indications that Lee made the rounds of multiple drinking gatherings and drank before the accident.

As someone with two prior drunk-driving offenses, he now faces a third suspected drunk-driving case, along with allegations that he downplayed the incident in his statements, further intensifying the backlash.