Buried controversies of “Squid Game” star Lee Jung Jae: DUI, assault, and homophobic remarks
Netizens discovered that Lee Jung Jae was once investigated for DUI and assault.
On September 9, on the Korean online community Instiz, a post summarizing Lee Jung Jae’s scandalous past, including DUI and assault charges, surfaced and drew attention.
On September 13, 1999, the BMW driven by Lee Jung Jae reportedly collided with the car of a 23-year-old office worker in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The blood alcohol concentration of the “Squid Game” star at the time was 0.222%. However, Lee Jung Jae denied the allegations and insisted that his manager was the driver.
3 years later, Lee Jung Jae was arrested again for DUI. Specifically, at around midnight on August 22, 2002, the Gangnam police station caught Lee Jung Jae driving with a blood alcohol rate of 0.054%. Answering the police, Lee Jung Jae admitted that he drank 3 bottles of beer at a pub with friends before getting in the car.
Lee Jung Jae’s two assault charges both took place in 2000. The first incident was in November 1999 at a bar in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul. Specifically, while drinking with 4 other people at a party, Lee Jung Jae and a friend got into a fight with Pyo, 30 years old.
On September 26, Lee Jung Jae was accused of physically assaulting a 22-year-old woman in front of a nightclub in Haeundae-gu, Busan. According to a report from the investigative agency, he dragged the victim and kicked her with his foot. The victim took two weeks to receive treatment for her injuries.
In addition, international fans called Lee Jung Jae out on homophobic remarks. Specifically, in an interview with Vogue Korea in 2013, Lee Jung Jae mentioned his late friend and shamelessly revealed that he tried to convince that friend to “stop being gay” before they passed away.
While most netizens are in shock upon knowing Lee Jung Jae’s past, there are still netizens who believe he has “changed and became a better person“, considering that most of the allegations happened 20 years ago.
Source: koreaboo
