From The Straits Times    |

Twitter was all abuzz with posts about "Daesung," a member of Korean pop group Big Bang, on the morning of May 31.

Daesung, 22, is reportedly being investigated by the police for his involvement in a car accident, which may have resulted in the death of a motorcyclist.

The official police statement from Seoul YoungDeung Po Police Station revealed that Daesung, who was driving an Audi, crashed into an already-passed-out motorcyclist on the morning of May 31st at Yanghwa Bridge. The motorcyclist was already unconscious from a previous accident.

However, there are many conflicting versions to the accident. In one version, Daesung was along Yangwa Bridge in southern Seoul at around 1 a.m. on Tuesday when he hit a taxi. The taxi driver was quoted as saying that he changed lanes in order to avoid hitting the motorcyclist who was already on the ground and bleeding even before the car accident happened.

The taxi driver was said to have stopped the car in order to check on the motorcyclist when Daesung hit the vehicle.

In another story, the Korean media quoted the police as saying that Daesung directly hit the motorcyclist, who was already on the ground due to an earlier accident.

The official police statement revealed that Daesung “has violated his duty to drive safely”, going at 80km/h on a road with a 60km/h speed limit, but his management YG Entertainment has spoken out and argued that there are many different factors to this incident, and that it should be regarded as a complex case.

The YG Entertainment representative has also maintained that “The taxi driver who was rear-ended by Daesung has said that Daesung had not been driving that fast; he said that he felt he had driven at about 60 km/h. Although Daesung was the one who told the authorities that he was driving at 80 km/h, this was said while he was in a state of great shock and confusion.”

A test revealed that Daesung was not drunk at the time of the accident but a news footage of the accident showed Daesung’s car and the taxi suffering severe damages due to the impact of the crash.

Unlike other Korean stars, Daesung did not leave the scene and went to the police station to give his account of the incident. Daesung was released by the police after undergoing five hours of investigation.

The authorities have also maintained that they will carry out a more detailed examination by monitoring the CCTV collected around the site, as well as gathering eyewitness reports and understanding the path of the motorcycle. An autopsy on the victim from the National Institute of Scientific Investigation has also been requested.

In August 2009, Daesung was also involved in a car accident when his car hit a railing in Gyeonggi province where he suffered multiple fractures.

The accident will affect the activities of Daesung and Big Bang. Daesung is currently a regular cast member of the variety show “Night After Night” on SBS TV station.

Big Bang recently finished their “Love & Hope Tour 2011” concert in Japan.