The panel of judges at the Seoul Western District Court's Criminal Division 11 officially sentenced Nam Tae Hyun to one year in prison and a fine of 1 million won in the first verdict hearing held on April 9, 2026.
The former member of boy group WINNER was found guilty of violating the Highway Traffic Act, specifically related to drunk driving (DUI) and exceeding the extreme speed limit.
In his ruling, the judge emphasized that firm action was necessary because Nam Tae Hyun was a repeat offender in the same case. "The defendant admitted and regretted his actions.
However, the court considered that he had relapsed into drunk driving despite previously being fined for a similar offense," the court stated. Furthermore, the judge highlighted that this violation occurred while Nam Tae Hyun was still on probation for a final and binding drug abuse conviction.
This was an aggravating factor that led the court to impose a corporal sentence of imprisonment. The incident occurred on April 27 of last year at around 4:10 a.m. KST.
Nam Tae Hyun was reportedly driving on the Gangbyeonbuk-ro Expressway towards Ilsan, near Dongjak Bridge. Based on the trial facts, Nam Tae Hyun was driving at a speed of 182 km/h, far exceeding the road's speed limit of 80 km/h.
He then lost control while trying to overtake another vehicle and hit the center divider. The test results showed his blood alcohol content reached 0.122 percent, a figure far exceeding the threshold for revoking a driving license (0.08 percent).
Although there were no fatalities in the accident, the public prosecutor had previously demanded a sentence of one year and six months in prison. Today's judge's decision was slightly lighter than the prosecutor's demand, but the artist's detention was still ordered.
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