Nam Tae-hyun, formerly of Winner, caused a drunk-driving accident during the period of a suspended sentence for drug use. Yonhap News

Singer Nam Tae-hyun, formerly of Winner, was sentenced to a prison term for causing a drunk-driving accident while under a suspended sentence.

On the 9th, Judge Yang Eun-sang of the Seoul Western District Court, Criminal Division 11 single-judge bench, sentenced Nam Tae-hyun, indicted for violating the Road Traffic Act (drunk driving and exceeding the speed limit), to one year in prison and a fine of $750 (1,000,000 KRW).

The court said, “While we took into account that he confessed and expressed remorse, we considered as reasons for strict punishment that he reoffended despite a prior drunk-driving fine and that the offense occurred during the period of a suspended sentence for drug offenses.” He was not taken into custody in court.

At about 4:10 a.m. on April 27 last year, near Dongjak-daero on Gangbyeonbuk-ro toward Ilsan in Seoul, he is accused of driving at 182 km/h with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.122% and crashing into the median barrier. The speed limit on that section is 80 km/h, meaning he exceeded it by more than double. There were no injuries.

In March 2023, he received a summary order imposing a fine of $4,500 (6,000,000 KRW) for causing a drunk-driving traffic accident. In January 2024, he was sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for two years, for using methamphetamine with a former partner. This case occurred during that suspended sentence period.

At the sentencing hearing on the 12th of last month, the prosecution sought one year and six months in prison and a fine of $750 (1,000,000 KRW), citing “a repeat offense committed during a suspended sentence and poor culpability.”