By Ko Dong-hwan
A man who was caught late last month driving under the influence of alcohol and crashing his vehicle in a wealthy Seoul district turned out to be the boyfriend of Park Gyu-ri, a member of the K-pop girl band, KARA, according to Gangnam police.
The man has been identified as Song Ja-ho, a 20-something curator and CEO of local art sharing platform operator, Pica Project, based in Gangnam. He is also the grandson of the founder of the Korean construction firm, Dongwon Development, reports say.
Song had been taken into custody by Gangnam Police Station on June 22 for allegedly drunk driving and crashing his car into a parked vehicle, fleeing the scene without taking any action to cover the damage done to the other car. In addition to his blood alcohol level, which was high enough to revoke his driving license according to local traffic laws, he also faces allegations of driving in the wrong direction and forcing a female passenger not to leave the car against her will. Police were looking into all of the allegations as of Thursday.
Before the incident, Song had a meeting with the woman, whom his legal representatives said on June 30 was his business associate, at a restaurant in the Cheongdam area. After drinking there, he called a chauffeur service, but the driver said that he did not know how to drive Song's car. Song then sat behind the wheel and his dinner partner also got in the car.
As he was leaving the restaurant's parking lot, he hit a car next to him, but didn't get out of the car to check the damage. Instead, he told the valet parking attendant to "contact my insurance company" and fled, according to reports.
But he was caught by a police officer on patrol about 1 kilometer away from the parking lot. Police tested him for drunk driving at the scene and busted him for excessive blood alcohol content. The passenger left the car safely at that time.
Law firm Daeho, Song's legal representative, said on June 30 that Song had confessed to drunk driving and expressed his regret. But Song denied allegations that he locked a woman inside his car. The law firm said Song, "only tried to find a safe roadside spot for her to leave the car." Regarding allegations that he drove the wrong way, the law firm said Song "doesn't remember doing that."
Song has been openly dating Park, KARA's leader, since 2019. Pica Project's online website put the musician's face on its homepage as a model. Park also posted on her Instagram account in December 2019 a photo of her and Song together.
KARA, known as one of the few K-pop bands that enjoyed significant popularity outside of Korea, has been on an indefinite hiatus since November 2019, when Goo Ha-ra, another member of the band, took her own life after being embroiled in a legal dispute with her boyfriend involving allegations of physical violence that raised the ire of the public.
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| Park Gyu-ri / Courtesy of CNT Global |
The man has been identified as Song Ja-ho, a 20-something curator and CEO of local art sharing platform operator, Pica Project, based in Gangnam. He is also the grandson of the founder of the Korean construction firm, Dongwon Development, reports say.
Song had been taken into custody by Gangnam Police Station on June 22 for allegedly drunk driving and crashing his car into a parked vehicle, fleeing the scene without taking any action to cover the damage done to the other car. In addition to his blood alcohol level, which was high enough to revoke his driving license according to local traffic laws, he also faces allegations of driving in the wrong direction and forcing a female passenger not to leave the car against her will. Police were looking into all of the allegations as of Thursday.
Before the incident, Song had a meeting with the woman, whom his legal representatives said on June 30 was his business associate, at a restaurant in the Cheongdam area. After drinking there, he called a chauffeur service, but the driver said that he did not know how to drive Song's car. Song then sat behind the wheel and his dinner partner also got in the car.
As he was leaving the restaurant's parking lot, he hit a car next to him, but didn't get out of the car to check the damage. Instead, he told the valet parking attendant to "contact my insurance company" and fled, according to reports.
But he was caught by a police officer on patrol about 1 kilometer away from the parking lot. Police tested him for drunk driving at the scene and busted him for excessive blood alcohol content. The passenger left the car safely at that time.
Law firm Daeho, Song's legal representative, said on June 30 that Song had confessed to drunk driving and expressed his regret. But Song denied allegations that he locked a woman inside his car. The law firm said Song, "only tried to find a safe roadside spot for her to leave the car." Regarding allegations that he drove the wrong way, the law firm said Song "doesn't remember doing that."
Song has been openly dating Park, KARA's leader, since 2019. Pica Project's online website put the musician's face on its homepage as a model. Park also posted on her Instagram account in December 2019 a photo of her and Song together.
KARA, known as one of the few K-pop bands that enjoyed significant popularity outside of Korea, has been on an indefinite hiatus since November 2019, when Goo Ha-ra, another member of the band, took her own life after being embroiled in a legal dispute with her boyfriend involving allegations of physical violence that raised the ire of the public.
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