Actor crashes into garbage truck on Saturday

Actor Ko Kyung-pyo. [Herald Muse]
Actor Ko Kyung-pyo. [Herald Muse]

Actor Ko Kyung-pyo has issued a public apology for driving drunk and crashing into a garbage truck, saying he will suspend all scheduled activities. Ko also expressed repeated remorse to the cast and crew of programs he was involved with. Broadcasters have begun re-editing or minimizing his appearances across multiple shows, and a planned fan meeting has been canceled.

Ko posted a statement Sunday on SNS under the title "I am sorry. This is Ko Kyung-pyo," saying, "Getting behind the wheel after drinking was entirely my fault," and that he would halt all planned activities.

Ko also described the sequence of events after the crash. "After hitting the garbage truck, I could not immediately find a place to pull over, so I drove a little further before stopping," he wrote. "I got out of the car to check what I had hit, and the moment I saw the two sanitation workers, I apologized to them."

He said the workers told him calmly that they had already called the police. "It was a situation where I had nothing to say even if they had been angry with me, so hearing them say that made me feel even more flustered and sorry — I wanted to hide somewhere," Ko wrote. He added that he told them again he would take responsibility for his actions, then waited at the scene for police while speaking with them briefly.

Ko also addressed his behavior captured on closed-circuit television footage released shortly after the incident. The footage showed him driving away from the crash site before pulling over, checking his vehicle, and making a phone call with his hand in his pocket. "What I put into my coat pocket in the video was the car key I had been holding," he said.

"I first want to apologize again to those who were working in the early hours of the morning and were put in danger and startled by my driving," Ko wrote. "Someone could have been seriously hurt because of what I did. It was an irresponsible act." He also noted that he had previously urged others not to drink and drive, saying he had broken his own words.

Ko extended his apology to broadcasting colleagues and crew. "I am even more sorry to those who worked together on the programs currently airing and those about to be released," he wrote. "There are people who have to re-edit scenes we filmed together laughing, and who now face difficult decisions about schedules they prepared for a long time." He added, "I am truly sorry to the producers and staff who trusted and cast me, and to the colleagues who stood by my side."

The drunk driving incident has sent ripple effects through the broadcasting industry. MBC's variety program "Hangout with Yoo" edited out as much of Ko's footage as possible from its Saturday broadcast, the day of the accident. tvN's "Six Sense: B-Side," on which Ko is a regular cast member, said it would minimize his screen time in Sunday's episode and the finale on Nov. 22. tvN's "Amazing Saturday," for which Ko had already completed filming as a guest, also plans to cut his footage as much as possible.

Programs yet to be released have also begun re-editing. The production team behind the Tving original variety show "Daetaleul: Dosi Goedam," set to premiere Dec. 2, said, "Given the nature of the content, in which multiple cast members work together to continue the investigation, there may be limits to editing, but we plan to re-edit by adjusting his screen time as much as possible." Because the show follows cast members collectively searching for clues and solving mysteries, fully removing Ko's scenes is expected to be difficult.

tvN's "Bogeom Majikeol 2," set to premiere Nov. 29, is also unlikely to escape the fallout. Ko is a main cast member alongside Park Bo-gum and Lee Sang-i, drawing attention to how his screen time and the show's direction will be handled. Promotional content for the program had already begun adjusting Ko's visibility ahead of the premiere. A fan meeting titled "2026 Ko Kyung-pyo Fan Meeting: Now Kyung-pyo Night," scheduled for Saturday, at Sungam Art Hall in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, has also been canceled.

Ko had been driving his personal vehicle drunk in Donggyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, at around 3:30 a.m. Saturday when he collided with a garbage truck. A breathalyzer test administered by police showed a blood alcohol concentration of 0.150 percent, far exceeding the license revocation threshold of 0.08 percent. No passengers were in the vehicle at the time. Ko submitted to the breathalyzer test at the scene before returning home. The Mapo Police Station said it plans to conduct a further investigation on charges of drunk driving under the Road Traffic Act.

Ko's agency, CL N Company, also issued an official statement on the day of the accident, saying it "takes the gravity of the wrongdoing of drunk driving seriously and will humbly accept any penalties handed down, and will fulfill all responsibilities including making amends for the damage caused."

Ko served as a traffic accident prevention ambassador for the Korea Road Traffic Authority in 2023. Remarks he made in a promotional video at the time — urging people not to drink and drive or speed — have resurfaced in the wake of the incident.

In his apology, Ko said he would "cooperate faithfully with the police investigation" and would "take all necessary measures to repair the damage caused by the accident and bear full responsibility for any penalties." He added, "I will never forget the shame I felt from this incident."


shee@heraldcorp.com