Shin Hye-sung, a member of the K-pop group Shinhwa, has been given a suspended sentence on charges of drunk driving.

On the morning of April 20 (KST), Judge Lee Min-ji of the Seoul Eastern District Court's Criminal Division 4 conducted a sentencing trial for Shin Hye-sung, who was charged with refusing a sobriety test and illegally using a vehicle under the Road Traffic Act.

The court sentenced Shin Hye-sung to six months in prison with a one-year suspension of execution.

Shin Hye-sung was accused of drunk driving on October 11th last year. This is his second drunk driving incident since he was booked without detention for drunk driving in 2007.

On the night of October 10 last year, Shin Hye-sung drank alcohol at a restaurant in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, and got into a vehicle driven by a designated driver with a friend. After the designated driver got out of the car in front of his friend's house early in the morning on Oct. 11, Shin Hye-sung, heavily intoxicated, drove about 13km before parking the car on a road near Tancheon 2 Bridge in Songpa-gu and falling asleep.

He was caught by the police who responded to a citizen's report and was arrested on the spot for refusing a sobriety test. Additionally, he was charged with illegal use of a vehicle after getting into someone else's car while intoxicated and driving it when leaving the restaurant.

Prosecutors demanded a two-year prison sentence for Shin Hye-sung. In their final argument, his legal representative appealed for leniency, stating that the accident occurred after drinking alcohol for the first time in a while, while he had been struggling with physical and mental difficulties, including social anxiety disorder, depression, and panic disorder. The representative also argued for the court to consider that he does not usually enjoy alcohol and that the possibility of recurrence is low when determining the sentence.

Shin Hye-sung himself tearfully stated, "I will reflect and make sure this never happens again."

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