Rapper NO:EL sentenced to three years in prison due to his bad behavior during the retention period
Prosecutor: “Unlicensed drunk driving, refusal to comply with requests for alcohol level measurement, and assaulting police officers”.
Prosecutors have sentenced rapper NO:EL (22, real name Jang Yong-jun) to three years in prison. He is accused of driving under the influence of alcohol without a license, refusing to comply with measurements, and assaulting police officers.
NO:EL‘s resolution trial was held on Feb 25th at the hearing of Criminal 4 alone (Senior Judge Shin Hyuk-jae) at the Seoul Central District Court. NO:EL was indicted on charges of refusal to measure alcohol, driving without a license under the Road Traffic Act, obstruction of justice and assaulting a police officer.
On the same day, the prosecution said, “The Defendant (NO:EL) committed a second offense even during the probation period due to drunk driving. Please take this into account,” they said, asking for a three-year prison term.
Rapper NO:EL is a son of Jang Je-won, a member of the National Assembly. In September last year, he hit another vehicle while driving a Mercedes-Benz with no license in Banpo-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul.
The police witnessed the accident and asked him to take a blood alcohol test and identity verification. However, NO:EL reportedly refused to comply with the police’s request 4 times within 30 minutes.
Even after getting in the patrol car, he hit the back of a police’s head twice. According to the investigation, the rapper even cursed at the police.
Meanwhile, NO:EL was also charged with causing a car accident and switching drivers when driving under the influence of alcohol in Mapo-gu, Seoul, in 2019. In 2020, he was sentenced to one and a half years in prison and two years of probation.
Considering his criminal history, the prosecution applied the “Yoon Chang-ho Act” in October last year and handed it over to trial. This law stipulates aggravated punishment for people who get caught more than twice for drunk driving or refusing to comply with blood alcohol test requests.
