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YouTube 'drunk drive hunter' indicted after fatal crash during livestreamed car chase

Published: 28 Apr. 2025, 19:00 Updated: 28 Apr. 2025, 19:00

A ″drunk driving hunter″ YouTuber surnamed Choi enters the warrant review court at the Gwangju District Court for a pretrial detention hearing on Nov. 13, 2024. [NEWS1]

A YouTuber in his 40s has been indicted for alleged involvement in a fatal car accident while livestreaming a car chase of a suspected drunk driver.

The Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office said Monday that it indicted a 41-year-old man surnamed Choi without detention on charges including joint intimidation under the Punishment of Violences Act.

Driver dies in car crash while fleeing YouTuber

Choi is accused of directly and indirectly causing a fatal car accident that occurred around 3:50 a.m. on Sept. 22 last year on a road in Sanwol-dong, Gwangsan District, Gwangju.

Known as a "drunk driving hunter" on YouTube, Choi reported a sports utility vehicle (SUV) driven by a man in his mid-30s to the police on suspicion of drunk driving. He then livestreamed the ensuing car chase on YouTube.

Two vehicles driven by Choi’s subscribers also joined the pursuit, upon which the man being chased crashed into a parked large truck and died.

Choi is also accused of unlawfully confining a sober driver in December 2023 by preventing him from exiting his car.

Prosecutors have also indicted 11 of Choi’s subscribers who participated in the car chase.

"We will respond firmly to crimes that cause danger to an unspecified number of people under the pretext of vigilantism," a prosecution official said.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY HYEON YE-SEUL [[email protected]]