Popular “Weak Hero” Actor Is An Actual Hero—But Here’s Why He Turned Down The “Model Citizen Award”
Back in 2021, Weak Hero: Class 2 and Pump Up The Healthy Love actor Lee Jun Young (Lee Junyoung, also known as U-KISS‘s Jun) made headlines after chasing down a drunk driver and handing them over to the police. His act of courage was celebrated, with Koreans naming him a “model citizen.”
And, in fact, he was offered a “Model Citizen Award” by the police—though he eventually turned it down. In the latest episode of KBS‘s Problem Child In House, the idol-turned-actor talked about what convinced him against accepting the award.
When show host Kim Sook praised him for pursuing and then apprehending the drunk driver, Lee Junyoung humbly noted that his actions didn’t necessarily come from some grand sense of duty.
It wasn’t out of a sense of duty. I saw a car swerving in front of me while I was driving and reported it. The police asked, ‘Would you be able to follow the car?’ so I did.
— Lee Junyoung
He then revealed that he turned down the award not only because “it didn’t feel right” to accept it when he didn’t consider himself a model citizen, but also because he wanted to be truly cool about it!
I really didn’t think I did anything special. Receiving an award for it didn’t feel right. I also thought it was less cool to be awarded for it.
— Lee Junyoung
The episode revealed, however, that the 2021 drunk-driver-chase-down was not the only time Lee Junyoung found himself doing good for the society.
When asked about the time he stopped a hit-and-run from happening, Lee explained, “I was having a drink with a friend at an outdoor table when a car hit my friend. It wasn’t a hard hit. Their clothes got caught on the side mirror and they fell, but the driver just kept going.” He said he chased the car down and made the driver stop, though the driver claimed they hadn’t realized what happened.
When another show host Hong Jin Kyung asked if he finds it hard to ignore injustice, Lee responded, “I think I was fearless when I was younger. I didn’t think about what might happen next. If something felt wrong, I’d act on instinct.”
What a true hero!
Watch the full clip here:
