Singer Kim Ho-jung, who caused controversy with a drunk hit-and-run incident, has had his sentence confirmed. On the 19th, Kim Ho-jung submitted a withdrawal of appeal to the Supreme Court. Consequently, the sentence of 2 years and 6 months in prison, as set by the appellate court, has been finalized.
Since Kim Ho-jung has been in custody since May of last year, he is expected to be released in November of next year if he serves the entire sentence.
Kim Ho-jung was accused of driving under the influence and hitting a taxi on the opposite road before fleeing around 11:40 PM on May 9th last year on the roads of Apgujeong-dong in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. In this incident, Lee Kwang-deuk, the former CEO of his agency Think Entertainment, and a former head manager were accused of persuading a manager to falsely confess and attempting to delete evidence such as black box footage.
However, since Kim Ho-jung reported to the police 17 hours after the incident, determining the exact level of intoxication at the time of the accident using the Widmark formula was challenging, and thus he was not charged with drunk driving under the Road Traffic Act.
The first court sentenced Kim Ho-jung to 2 years and 6 months in prison for charges such as causing injury while driving dangerously under special circumstances and failing to take measures after the accident under the Road Traffic Act, and for instructing an accomplice to escape.
Kim Ho-jung immediately appealed, denying the “drunk tactic” and explaining that the taxi collision occurred because of manipulating his phone, not due to alcohol, and appealed for leniency by submitting over 130 reflection letters.
Nevertheless, the appellate court also handed down a sentence of 2 years and 6 months in prison. The court noted, “Considering the amount of alcohol consumed on the day of the event, it cannot be said that the accident was caused merely by phone manipulation. Drinking significantly impaired judgment and rationality, causing the accident. He was present during a call to the manager to arrange for false confession and changed clothes and left the scene with Mr. Jang, making fake calls with him. The nature of the crime and the circumstances after the crime were not favorable.”
Kim Ho-jung had submitted an appeal and was consulting with major law firms and legal experts, but ultimately decided to forgo the appeal. Following this decision, Kim Ho-jung’s fan club stated, “Kim Ho-jung decided to give up the appeal after deep contemplation over a long period. We respect that decision and will steadfastly prepare for his return without wavering.”