Lim Young-min's DUI incident delays K-pop band AB6IX's comeback

K-Pop boy group AB6IX’s comeback has been delayed due to the DUI incident of leader Lim Young-min. The group’s label, Brand New Music confirmed the same through an official statement on June 4, 2020. Lim Young-min was involved in a DUI incident that involves him being charged with driving under the influence, which eventually leads to the temporary revoke of his driver’s license.

Brand New Music official statement read,  “Back in the early morning hours of May 31, Lim Young-min attended a personal gathering with acquaintances and drank alcohol; after which he set out to drive himself home. He was stopped by police and charged with a DUI, and his license has been revoked. Lim Young-min is currently reflecting on his actions deeply, and plans on participating in any further police investigations as necessary with diligence." 

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The label continued, "As of today, Lim Young Min will halt all of his activities as a member of AB6IX; we notify that AB6IX will be carrying out all future schedules as a team of 4-members. AB6IX's new album, originally scheduled for release on June 8, has been postponed until June 29 as we reorganize the team."  The label also put out an apology to fans for the trouble. They also mentioned that they will ensure such incidents do not take place in the future. Although the label didn’t mention any details regarding the disciplinary actions that have been taken internally, it is evident that Lim Young-min will not be making a comeback in the near future.

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South Korea is very strict when it comes to laws around driving, particularly due to efforts to curtail road accidents. Reportedly, in 2019, the country amended its Road Traffic Act to set stricter limits on alcohol consumption with regards to operating a motor vehicle. Under the new laws as per news reports, the legal limit for blood alcohol content was brought down from 0.05%, the standard for 57 years, to 0.03%. Additionally, the new laws reportedly stated that anyone caught driving under the influence could face the maximum penalty for impaired driving of up to five years of imprisonment and/or a 20 million won fine.

Fans of the band and Lim Young-min had mixed responses regarding the same. While some fans made it clear that they would hold Young-min accountable for his actions and choices, others decided to defend him. One of the fans even tweeted in his defence and said, “I know everyone and ABNEWs are disappointed but can you just please set that aside for now?! Young-min needs us! Being disappointment for him won’t help either, instead, we should protect him now his weak at this moment!"

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