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| Rapper NO:EL, left, has allegedly driven drunk and attempted to have his friend take the fall. His father and lawmaker Rep. Chang Je-won, from the conservative Liberty Korea Party, is at right. He is under pressure to quit over his son's behavior. Korea Times |
By Oh Young-jin
NO:EL, a rapper whose name is Chang Yong-jun, gave 35 million won ($29,000) to a motorcyclist that he hit with his Mercedes while allegedly driving it drunk, the vernacular Dong-A newspaper reported Wednesday.
The son of Rep. Chang Je-won of the conservative opposition Liberty Korea Party asked the injured rider to submit a leniency plea to police on his behalf, a legal measure that is quite often resorted to in traffic accidents.
"The amount is a bit larger than usual but Chang decided to pay it to help end speculative reports," the rapper's lawyer was quoted as saying.
This settlement, however, is not supposed to affect police investigations into allegations of his drunk driving and attempt to "hire" somebody to take the fall for him. He is also suspected of hit and run.
Chang had a friend pretend he was driving the car but later turned himself in to police, admitting he was at the wheel.
His blood alcohol level was 0.12 percent ― high enough to have his license revoked ― when he hit the bike on Saturday.
The rapper said he had stopped his musical activities and apologized for the incident.
Meanwhile, his father took flak for his son's misbehavior. He was called on to relinquish his parliamentary seat but refused, although he apologized.
