Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
Remember that time the media used SPICA‘s Jiwon‘s pic in a drunk driving accident that left 10 injured? Well this time she’s actually been in an accident after she fell asleep at the wheel.
On July 3, the Gangnam Police reported that Jiwon caused a three-vehicle accident at around 11:30 p.m. (KST) on July 2 on her way to Seongsu-dong from the direction of the Seongsu Bridge in Apgujeong. It is said that the SPICA member crashed her Chevrolet into two taxis that were stopped at a red light in the lane next to her as she was on her way home. A total of four people, including Jiwon, were involved in the three-car accident and expressed minor pain in their neck, arms, and knees. Jiwon was transferred to a local hospital due to slight injury to her right wrist, along with the others involved. After checking her blood alcohol level immediately at the scene of the crash, police confirmed that Jiwon was not driving under the influence of alcohol.
Obviously this was a shitty incident that she should’ve used better judgment for, but I do think most people who have worked long hours or who have long commutes have probably done something similar at one point or another. Fortunately for her, nobody was seriously hurt, so there’s nothing much more to be said with regards to this.
Either way, the accident was pretty bad for her public image in itself, but her agency B2M Entertainment just made it worse.
On July 3, a representative of B2M Entertainment addressed the incident: “Although Jiwon is in a great state of shock following the accident, she has sustained no major injuries. She visited a hospital right after the accident and was discharged after getting a cast on her finger. [The accident happened] at a time when she has been practicing hard while preparing for SPICA’s comeback. We apologize for causing fans to worry.” The agency rep also emphasized, “It was not due to drunk driving.”
Oy vey.
That is an atrocious statement to give the press, as it frames the accident as if she’s the victim and the only thing relevant is updating her fans on her status, and netizens have understandably been all over it. Since it wasn’t a serious injury to her, they could’ve updated fans on her status whenever while currently issuing a purely apologetic statement to the victims, but nooo…
Of course, that’s not Jiwon’s fault though, it’s just another instance where the public relations is extraordinarily bad for an industry that seems to more heavily rely on clean public images than anywhere else. Amazing when you think about it.
