English translation of the original Korean report. Images and source documents may contain Korean text.

Actor Go Kyung-pyo, who had urged the public not to drink and drive while serving as a traffic accident prevention ambassador for the Korea Road Traffic Authority, crashed into a sanitation truck while driving with a blood alcohol level high enough to warrant license revocation.

TVING’s original variety show ‘The Great Escape: Urban Ghost Stories,’ in which he is a regular cast member, is 18 days away from release. TVING, which is still dealing with a personal data breach involving 39.54 million accounts, now faces an additional problem involving a cast member of one of its flagship variety shows.

According to his agency, CLN Company, police and other sources on the 14th, Go Kyung-pyo was driving his own passenger car in Donggyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, at around 3:30 a.m. that day when he collided with a sanitation truck whose crew was working at the time. A breath alcohol test showed his blood alcohol concentration was at least 0.08%, the threshold for license revocation. Police booked him on suspicion of violating the Road Traffic Act by driving under the influence.

Go Kyung-pyo received his certificate of appointment as a traffic accident prevention ambassador from the Korea Road Traffic Authority in March 2023. In the authority’s promotional video, he said, “Everyone, don’t drink and drive,” and “Speeding is not allowed either,” adding, “I hope you will drive courteously and safely.” In effect, he was involved in an alcohol-related traffic accident himself three years and eight months after his appointment.

His agency stated, “We take the seriousness of the wrongdoing of drunk driving very seriously, and we will humbly accept any penalties imposed in the future and fulfill the resulting responsibilities, including compensating those affected.” The production teams of MBC’s ‘Hangout with Yoo’ and tvN’s ‘Sixth Sense: B-Side’ said they would edit out as much of Go Kyung-pyo’s footage as possible.

■ Series That Ranked No. 1 in Subscription Contribution Faces Cast-Related Risk Ahead of Release

‘The Great Escape: Urban Ghost Stories’ features Kim Jong-min, Kim Dong-hyun, Shindong, Yoo Byung-jae, Go Kyung-pyo and Seungkwan of SEVENTEEN, and is scheduled for release at 6 p.m. on the 2nd of next month. Episode 0 was released ahead of the main series on the 9th. The previous season, ‘The Great Escape: The Story,’ reportedly ranked No. 1 in subscription contribution among all TVING originals in its third week of release.

TVING has not yet announced how it will handle Go Kyung-pyo’s appearances. TVING recorded revenue (operating revenue) of 406 billion won and an operating loss of 69.8 billion won last year. Following an operating loss of 71 billion won the previous year, it posted losses of around 70 billion won for two consecutive years, while its net loss widened to 89.3 billion won.

The personal data breach issue also remains unresolved. On September 3, the public-private joint investigation team under the Ministry of Science and ICT announced that data from 39.54 million TVING accounts had been leaked. The investigation team pointed out that TVING had failed to properly address vulnerabilities in its management of developer access keys despite identifying them during a simulated hacking exercise in 2024. TVING CEO Choi Joo-hee said, “We will fundamentally rebuild our entire security framework from the ground up.”

The administrative fine arising from the personal data breach will be determined following an investigation by the Personal Information Protection Commission. In the meantime, TVING must decide how to handle Go Kyung-pyo’s appearances before the December 2 release of ‘The Great Escape: Urban Ghost Stories.’

Meanwhile, TVING’s largest shareholder is CJ ENM, which held a 48.9% stake as of the end of last year. CJ ENM’s largest shareholder is CJ Corporation, which holds a 40.07% stake, while CJ Corporation’s largest shareholder is CJ Group Chairman Lee Jae-hyun, who holds a 42.07% stake, based on figures as of the end of June this year. Tracing the ownership chain upward places Chairman Lee at the top of TVING’s ownership structure.