Goo Ja-myung caught drunk-driving, ousted from 'Our Neighborhood Arts and Physical Education'

Soccer player-turned-singer Goo Ja-myung, 24, will leave KBS 2tv variety show "Our Neighborhood Arts and Physical Education" amid drunk-driving controversy.

The soccer player-turned-singer was asked by the producers to leave the show as a token of self-discipline. The incident comes after the entertainment industry has kept a low profile recently in light of last month’s ferry disaster. 

Goo was involved in a car accident while driving drunk around 5 a.m. on Tuesday in Goyang City, northwest of Seoul, local police said.

Goo, the winner of “Star Audition: The Great Birth” in 2012, reportedly ran into the wall of an underground tunnel exit. He was admitted to the emergency room at a hospital but discharged shortly after. 

At the time of the accident, Goo had a blood alcohol level of 0.133 percent, high enough to have his drivers’ license revoked. The legal limit for Korea is 0.05 percent blood alcohol level.

“Following discussion with the staff, we decided to exclude Goo Ja-myung from the recording scene starting tomorrow... and try to edit out his parts on the May 13 broadcast as much as possible,” a KBS official related to the matter was quoted as saying.

By Chung Joo-won (joowonc@heraldcorp.com)