Hyesung's latest DUI scandal has affected the reputation of his group, Shinhwa.

The longest-running group Shinhwa has been referred to as the 'role model' by many junior idol groups as they have been together for nearly 25 years. Their 24th year together is now stained with controversy instead of honor.

According to the police on October 14, the Songpa Police Station in Seoul is investigating Shin Hyesung on charges of refusal to take the breathalyzer test, theft, and driving under the influence under the Road Traffic Act. 

The police were dispatched after receiving a report and found Shin Hyesung, in a drunken state, in the middle of Tancheon 2nd Bridge, Songpa-gu, Seoul, around 1:40 AM on October 11. He was found to have driven the distance from a convenience store in Sujeong-gu, Seongnam, to Tancheon 2nd Bridge, about 10 to 15 km.

This is not the first time Shin Hyesung has been drunk driving. He was also caught drinking and driving in April 2007, raising public criticism. At that time, Hyesung's blood alcohol level was 0.097%, which was high enough to have his license suspended. In addition, from July of the same year to April 2008, he was sentenced to a fine of 10 million KRW as it was known that he had illegally gambled 140 million KRW (~97,108 USD) on five occasions.

After the latest DUI, Hyesung's agency immediately admitted to his wrongdoings and apologized for the incident. Hyesung's agency explained that the singer had only taken the keys given to him by the restaurant valet worker. However, this was proven false, and it was revealed that there was no valet worker at that time. In fact, Hyesung had taken the vehicle on his own accord, proving that his agency's statement was false.

Shin Hyesung's repeated offenses are expected to affect not only his solo activities but also the activities of Shinhwa. It has been reported that three of Shinhwa's members - Minwoo, Dongwan, and Junjin) are preparing to debut as a unit this winter for the first time in 24 years. Additionally, it is known that a concert with the entire group is also planned. According to insiders, it is highly likely that this concert will be Shinhwa's official last concert. In other words, one member, Shin Hyesung, has taken away the opportunity of the idol group of 25 years to end their activities in honor.

In this same manner, it is important for idol groups to minimize the risk of individual members as much as possible. This is because the offense of one member can put the brakes on the activities of the group as a whole. In fact, there are countless cases where group activities were disrupted due to the drunk driving of members. For example, VICTON member Heochan, who was caught driving under the influence in September, was recently let go from the team. 

Prior to this, AB6IX also had a setback in group activities due to Lim Young Min's drunk driving issue. Lim Young Min also withdrew from the current team. In addition, 2PM's full stage at the Pyeongchang Olympics was canceled due to Jun.K's drunk driving, and Super Junior's Kangin also left the team after drinking and driving twice in 2009 and 2019.

An entertainment agency official said, "There are many factors that can cause problems in maintaining group activities, such as drunk driving, suspicion of school violence, and controversy over privacy. Since it is impossible to monitor every move of singers, the agency has no other way than to give them as much awareness as possible." The official added, "What's changed from the past is that the trend now is to expel the member who caused the issue rather than keeping that member in the group. In fact, keeping the controversial member in the group can limit the group activities and even if they take a break and comeback, the public's opinion of them is bad so expelling them from the group decreases the risks."