If actor Lee Yi Kyung had the chance to redo the night of April 1st, he might not have jeopardized his driver's license. Fortunately, having his license suspended for driving drunk will not cost him his role in the current time travel drama, "Nine: Nine Time Travels."
In that drama, the actor stars as the young Han Young Hoon. He is the best friend of the young Park Sun Woo. Together they meet the older Park Sun Woo when he travels back in time to prevent terrible things from happening to his family.
The rookie actor, who only had one previous role in "School 2013, was caught driving under the influence on April 1st near his apartment complex. He had a blood alcohol level of 0.075%. The police suspended his license but did not arrest him, saying that he needed to come in for further investigation.
His agency, HB Entertainment issued a statement saying that his actions were "a big mistake, especially for a rookie actor. He will be taking time to reflect."
According to the agency, Lee, 24, called a driver to bring him home after a night of drinking in Gangnam. But when they got near his apartment, he told the driver to leave and drove his own car into the parking lot. That's when the police stopped him.
The producers of "Nine" considered his case carefully but decided not to replace him.
"He's reflecting over his actions and because of the drama filming we cannot replace the actors now. We made our decision after thinking deeply," said the show's spokesperson.
While Lee does not have many more scenes in the remainder of the drama, the way the plot jumps back and forth in time might be confusing if there were suddenly a different actor playing his part. The 16-episode series only has a few more episodes left before its conclusion.
Lee Yi Kyung was recently in the news for nobler reasons. Singer Jo Kwon of 2AM claimed that the actor saved his life. On March 25th, the singer was resting in his car when his manager accidentally turned on a portable gas stove. Jo Kwon fell asleep and Lee Yi Kyung's call woke him up before he inhaled too much gas.
"If he didn't call me, I would've been in big trouble," said Jo Kwon who was rushed to the emergency room.