Moon Da-hye appears at police after drunk driving accident

Moon Da-hye, the daughter of former President Moon Jae-in, who caused a drunk driving accident in Itaewon, Seoul, appeared at the police on Friday, 13 days after the accident.

She appeared at the Yongsan Police Station in Seoul as a suspect around 1:40 p.m. on this day. Arriving in a white sedan with her lawyer, Moon, dressed in a black suit, exited the car and entered the police station. When reporters asked about her feelings, she said, "I’m sorry. I will faithfully cooperate with the investigation."

Moon later released a separate apology statement to the media. "I made a serious mistake that should never have happened. I will live reflecting on this to ensure it never happens again. Thanks to the taxi driver who reported me, I was able to stop driving and avoid a more serious accident," she said. I am also thankful that my apology after the accident was accepted. Many people have expressed concern and criticized me for drunk driving. I will live reflecting on myself so that this never happens again."

On Oct. 5, Moon, in a heavily intoxicated state with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.149%, far exceeding the license cancellation threshold, was driving near Itaewon Station in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. While changing lanes, she collided with a following taxi. After receiving a handwritten apology from Moon, the injured taxi driver agreed to settle and decided not to submit a medical injury report to the police. As a result, Moon is likely to face charges only for drunk driving under the Road Traffic Act, excluding the more severe charge of dangerous driving causing injury under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.


손준영 기자 hand@donga.com