On August 6, a representative from SM Entertainment relayed a word of apology after it was revealed that veteran actor Lee Jae Ryong (54) was facing police charges for damaging property in a drunken state.
Back in June of this year, actor Lee Jae Ryong damaged property including a business sign structure, etc worth approximately 500,000 KRW (~ $411 USD) outside a bowling alley, in a state of intoxication. The actor was charged and forwarded to prosecution for property damage crimes, but back on August 2, prosecutors chose to defer his indictment due to the fact that Lee Jae Ryong paid off all damages immediately.
In a word of public apology, a representative from SME stated, "It's true that Lee Jae Ryong's indictment regarding his property damage trial was deferred. In a state of intoxication, he knocked over a business sign; however, immediately afterward, he paid for all of his damages and apologized sincerely to the victims, settling the matter safely. We apologize for causing concerns."
Meanwhile, having debuted as a drama actor in 1986, Lee Jae Ryong most recently appeared in tvN's educational variety program 'My English Puberty'.
We all make mistakes in life but at least he did the right thing stepped up and took responsibility by paying for the damages. Hopefully he learned his lesson cause he could have hurt somebody and then it would have been a whole different ball game, that would have been inexcusable.