Actor Lee Jae-ryong drank more soju 20 minutes after hit-and-run to mask alcohol level

Actor Lee Jae-ryong, who fled the scene of a hit-and-run crash in central Gangnam, reportedly visited a nearby restaurant shortly afterward and drank more alcohol — a tactic known as "alcohol dilution," used to obscure blood alcohol levels before a police test.

According to MBC, Lee was driving drunk near Cheongdam Station in Gangnam-gu on the evening of March 6 when he struck a median barrier. The collision caused an estimated 3 million won ($2,190) in repair costs, yet he left without taking any action.

After fleeing, Lee joined another drinking gathering and was arrested at a friend's home roughly three hours after the crash.

In an apparent attempt to evade a drunk-driving charge, Lee entered a restaurant in Gangnam-gu at around 11:23 p.m. on March 6 — about 20 minutes after the crash — and drank soju for roughly 50 minutes.

It was a textbook "alcohol dilution" attempt: by drinking more after the incident, he sought to muddy his pre-crash blood alcohol concentration before any sobriety test.

Arrested at a friend's home about two hours after the crash, Lee initially denied driving drunk but later reversed course during the police investigation, saying, "I drove after drinking four glasses of soju. I thought I had only grazed the median."

This is not the first time Lee has drawn public criticism over alcohol. In 2003, he had his license revoked after refusing a breathalyzer test following a drunk-driving incident. In 2019, he was booked on charges of property damage after destroying a bowling alley sign in Gangnam-gu while heavily intoxicated, though prosecutors suspended his indictment.

Legal sources said Lee is set to stand trial for the first time on Oct. 16 at Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, before Judge Lee Jae-wook of the 10th criminal division. As defendants are required to appear in person on trial dates, Lee is expected to be present in court that day.