'Drunk Driving Escape' Sanghaegi, SNS Account Closed Amid Controversy

Sanghaegi (real name: Kwon Sang-hyuk, 33 years old), a popular mukbang YouTuber with 1.65 million subscribers, is embroiled in controversy over allegations of refusing a breathalyzer test and fleeing. On the 23rd, Sanghaegi suddenly closed his social network service (SNS) account.

The Seoul Songpa Police Station announced on the 21st that they had arrested a man in his 30s, referred to as A, on the spot for violating the Road Traffic Act (refusal of breathalyzer test) and are currently investigating. According to the police, A was caught driving under the influence but is suspected of refusing the police's request for a breathalyzer test and attempting to flee. After it became known that A was a famous YouTuber, speculation quickly spread online that A was Sanghaegi.

In particular, A is suspected of driving under the influence from Gangnam-gu to Songpa-gu, a distance of about 12 km, around 3:43 AM on the 21st, and reportedly ignored the police's request to stop and fled for about 300 meters. The police stated that A refused the breathalyzer test for about 20 minutes.

As the controversy escalated, comments demanding explanations or criticizing Sanghaegi flooded his SNS. In response, Sanghaegi has remained silent, deleting his SNS account without making any statement. The number of subscribers to Sanghaegi's YouTube channel decreased by more than 10,000 in just one day, and the views and comments on his past videos have surged explosively. In particular, critical comments dominate, reflecting the cold gaze of public opinion.

Sanghaegi debuted as an AfreecaTV BJ in 2018 and gained popularity by running a YouTube channel since 2019. He has also shown his entrepreneurial side by operating a French fry franchise business. In the past, in 2020, he was embroiled in a controversy over back advertising on YouTube and issued an apology.