Defense attorney Kim Ho-joong abruptly resigned from his position, but still 'Hohwagwan'
Jul 04, 2024
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According to the legal community, lawyer Cho submitted his resignation letter to the Seoul Central District Court hearing the case of Kim, who was arrested and charged with violating the law on aggravated punishment of certain crimes.
Lawyer Cho, who has been defending since May, reportedly resigned before the trial began as he agreed to defend Kim Ho-joong only until the prosecution's investigation stage. Lawyer Cho said in a media outlet, "(I originally decided to defend until the prosecution's investigation stage.' (Kim Ho-joong) was indicted, and an additional lawyer was appointed, so my role is over.'
However, excluding lawyer Cho, a total of five ultra-luxury lawyers have been appointed, including Choo Hyung-woon, a former prosecutor, Jeon Sang-gwi, a lawyer currently affiliated with the law firm, and Cho Wan-woo.
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In particular, lawyer Cho was in conflict with the police over Kim Ho-joong's return to the main gate when he was questioned by the police for the third time as a suspect. At the time of police attendance, Kim Ho-joong attended the underground parking lot to avoid numerous reporters, and he also tried to avoid numerous cameras and reporters.
Attorney Cho, who also attended the meeting, requested to return home through the underground parking lot just as he did at the time of attendance based on Article 15 of the Public Information Regulations that "information on the return of persons involved in the case should not be disclosed", but the police investigation team refused to do so. Since then, lawyer Cho has continuously criticized the police over Kim Ho-joong's public return home. He told SBS that `Although there is a lot of evidence supporting the drinking situation, there is a principle of presumption of innocence, and unless you are a felon, you should look at the existence of criminal charges and the protection of the suspect's human rights (super rights) on a separate level until you are convicted of a crime", and even mentioned the case of the late Lee Sun-kyun. "If you break even a minor (publication) rule, you will have no choice but to repeat painful precedents and eventually return to the era of barbarism," he said.
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Kim Ho-joong, the head of the agency, apologized for his overprotection and denied drinking, but CCTV footage of the scene poured out and eventually admitted to driving under the influence 10 days after the incident and bowed his head.
Judge Choi Min-hye of the Seoul Central District Court will be tried for the first time on the 10th of this month on charges of dangerous driving injuries and running injuries under the Specific Crime Aggravated Punishment Act, and inaction after accidents under the Road Traffic Act. Lee Kwang-deuk, CEO of Thinking Entertainment, former head of the division, and three managers, identified only by his surname Jang, will also be tried together on charges of fleeing the crime and destroying evidence.
However, the prosecution decided not to charge him with drunk driving under the Road Traffic Act, saying, "It is difficult to specify the drinking level by reverse calculation using the Weedmark formula as Kim Ho-joong drank several times at a time interval."
olzllovely@sportschosun.com
