The appellate court has handed down a harsher sentence than the original verdict for actor Son Seung-won, who was indicted on his fifth drunk driving charge. On August 13, the Criminal Appeals Division 1 of the Seoul Western District Court overturned the initial 1-year prison sentence and increased it to 2 years. The court’s decision to double the sentence was driven by the extreme danger his actions posed on the road and his lack of remorse.

The most decisive factor for the harsher punishment was the 'deadly wrong-way drive' he committed in the middle of the night on the Gangbyeon Expressway. In November 2025, Son drove against the flow of traffic for approximately 1 minute and 30 seconds on the Gangbyeon Expressway while highly intoxicated, with a blood alcohol level of 0.165%, well above the threshold for license revocation. The court severely criticized him, stating that driving the wrong way on an expressway with an 80 km/h speed limit created a 'public danger' that seriously threatened the lives of innocent citizens.

Further fueling public outrage were the revelations of his attempts to deceive the judiciary. Immediately after the accident, Son instructed his passenger to hide the dashcam memory card, an attempt to destroy evidence. Moreover, even while submitting apologies to the court claiming he had 'sold his car and quit drinking,' he was caught visiting a bar in Hannam-dong while still unlicensed. Such persistent behavior, seemingly mocking the rule of law, ultimately led to the severe judicial penalty of a 2-year prison sentence.

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