Trot Star Jeong Dong-won Admits Driving Without License Following 100 Million Won Blackmail

Jeong Dong-won admitted to underage driving past.
His case emerged from a blackmail scheme.
Prosecution is now handling the license charge.

Popular Trot singer Jeong Dong-won (also known as JD1) finds himself at the center of a legal and public relations storm. The Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office has confirmed that the 18-year-old artist is under investigation for violating the Road Traffic Act, specifically for the charge of driving without a license.

The case, which was recently transferred from the police, revolves around an incident that occurred back in 2023. At that time, a then-16-year-old Jeong Dong-won was reportedly behind the wheel of a car in a local city, an act that is strictly illegal as the minimum age to obtain a driver's license in South Korea is 18.

This is not his first traffic-related offense. e previously received a suspended indictment in March 2023 for driving a motorcycle on Seoul's Dongbu Expressway, where motorcycles are expressly prohibited.

The belated discovery of this two-year-old violation has a bizarre and dramatic backstory, one that involves blackmail and a hefty sum of money. It turns out that the entire case only came to light after Jeong Dong-won became the victim of a serious extortion plot.

Earlier this year, a group of individuals managed to get ahold of the singer's cell phone. They allegedly accessed his private photo gallery and discovered the incriminating video evidence of his past unlicensed driving. Seizing the opportunity, they threatened to publicly leak his personal information unless he paid them a staggering 500 million won (approximately $375,000 USD).

Reports indicate that Jeong Dong-won did end up paying 100 million won (approximately $75,000 USD) as part of this extortion attempt before eventually reporting the crime to the authorities. The blackmailers were subsequently arrested, but during the police investigation into the extortion, the video evidence of the driving violation was uncovered, leading to this separate legal proceeding.

A Confession and an Apology

With the evidence now public and the case forwarded to the prosecution, Jeong Dong-won and his agency, Showplay Entertainment, have moved to formally address the allegations.

The agency released an official statement admitting to the charges and offering a profound apology. They provided context, explaining that the driving incident was a brief, curious mistake made in his youth.

"Jeong Dong-won practiced driving for about 10 minutes on a mountain path near his hometown of Hadong, and a passenger filmed it," the agency revealed, quoted from Chosun.

Furthermore, the agency expressed his deep regret, stating, "Jeong Dong-won deeply regrets and is reflecting on his mistake of practicing driving without a license."

"We will do our best to manage and educate our artists so that they can grow into more mature and responsible members of society, using this incident as an opportunity. We will thoroughly provide guidance to prevent unfortunate incidents like this from happening in the future," the agency concluded.

The agency also sought to clarify the timeline of the blackmail event, noting that the perpetrators had initially demanded over 200 million won. They emphasized that Jeong Dong-won, after refusing to pay the full amount, chose to report the crime to the police himself, fully accepting that his own past mistake would be revealed in the process.

This complex situation presents a dual narrative which is Jeong Dong-won as a perpetrator of a traffic law violation and also as a victim of a serious crime. While his admission of guilt and apology are a step toward accountability, the case undoubtedly casts a shadow over the career of the young star who first won the nation's heart as a middle school contestant on "Mr. Trot." The outcome now rests with the prosecutors, who will decide on the final legal repercussions for the driving without a license charge.

Source: Chosun, Sports Seoul, Star News, News1