Beloved Korean Celebrity Admits To Drunk Driving And Shuts Down YouTube Channel

Comedian Hong Jang Won has belatedly confessed to being caught driving under the influence and has shut down his YouTube channel, which had over 700,000 subscribers. This marks his second DUI since 2006.

On August 18, Hong posted a handwritten apology on the community page of his channel MJang Project.

“I have committed a serious crime, and on top of that, I committed an even greater wrong by revealing it so late, only now. On June 28, I was caught during a sobriety check near my home with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.065%.”

He clarified that there was no accident or injury, and that he was stopped while driving alone. He added that legal proceedings are currently underway.

“Drunk driving is a clear crime that allows no excuse or justification, yet I still did it. As a broadcaster who lives off viewers’ trust and support, it’s something I should never have done. Moreover, I already faced license suspension and a fine in 2006. Back then I was too immature to grasp the seriousness of the crime, and I failed to reflect properly, which is why I’ve now repeated the same offense.”

Hong admitted that the deeper wrongdoing was hiding the incident for over 50 days while continuing his broadcasts “as if nothing had happened.” He confessed that he feared betraying his supporters, feared criticism from the public, and feared admitting that his mistake could harm the livelihoods of his staff and collaborators.

“By day, I deceived viewers and colleagues by acting like nothing was wrong, and by night, I lay awake consumed by fear and guilt. Yet I still could not muster the courage to tell the truth.”

He described his silence as cowardly and foolish, admitting that as time passed, his guilt “snowballed” beyond control. Hong stressed that the DUI was entirely his own personal wrongdoing, not known even to his family, friends, or colleagues — who, by extension, also became victims of his deception.

He vowed to take full responsibility, saying he would find ways to return the profits from the past 50 days of his YouTube and broadcasting activities, and announced he would suspend his channel and all broadcast activities indefinitely to enter a period of self-reflection.

Debuting in 2007 as part of SBS’s 9th open recruitment of comedians, Hong has since worked as a reporter and MC for various entertainment programs. In 2020, he launched MJang Project, producing podcasts and YouTube content that garnered strong popularity with about 700,000 subscribers. Following his confession, the channel has now been shut down.