Remembering Model and Actor Ye Hak-young on the Second Anniversary of His Passing

It has been two years since the passing of model and actor 예학영 (Ye Hak-young), who died on December 24, 2022, at the age of 40. The cause of his death remains undisclosed. The news was shared through a personal channel by a friend, who expressed their sorrow, saying, "He was always the one to make us laugh, and I hope he finds peace. Please come and share your kind words."

Friends and colleagues mourned his loss, with actor 오병진 (Oh Byung-jin) from the group Ocean stating, "I hope you find happiness in heaven. My heart aches so much."

예학영 began his career as a model in 2001 at the Seoul Collection and transitioned to acting in 2003 with the MBC sitcom 논스톱4 (Nonstop 4). He appeared in several films, including 백만장자의 첫사랑 (A Millionaire's First Love, 2006), 해부학교실 (Anatomy Class, 2007), 아버지와 마리와 나 (Father, Marie, and Me, 2008), 배꼽 (Belly Button, 2013), and 바리새인 (Pharisee, 2014), as well as the drama 드라마시티-사랑팔아 닷.컴 (Drama City - Love Selling .com).

However, in 2009, he faced legal issues due to drug use, receiving a sentence of 2 years and 6 months in prison, suspended for 4 years, along with 200 hours of community service. This incident led to his suspension from KBS, EBS, and MBC.

After a period of reflection, he made a comeback in 2011 with Mnet's 세레나데 대작전 (Serenade Operation) and appeared in tvN's 코리아 갓 탤런트2 (Korea's Got Talent 2) the following year, though he did not gain significant attention.

In 2018, 예학영 was caught driving under the influence, and again in 2019. In February 2018, he was found sleeping in his parked car in Gangnam, with a blood alcohol level of 0.067%, which is above the legal limit. A year later, he was stopped while riding a motorcycle with a blood alcohol level of 0.048%.

His sudden death three years later has left many in shock and sorrow.