Kim Ho-joong on crutches and the victim also agreed, but the prosecution sentenced him to three and a half years
Sep 30, 2024
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At the hearing of Judge Choi Min-hye at the Seoul Central District Court on the 30th, a final hearing was held to hear the final statement of Kim Ho-joong, who was handed over to trial on charges of dangerous driving and running away under the Specific Crime Weighted Penalty Act, after-accident measures under the Road Traffic Act, and criminal escape assistance.
Kim Ho-joong's final hearing was held. Kim Ho-joong attended the ceremony wearing a black suit and on his right crutches. Kim Ho-joong's agency, Thinking Entertainment CEO Lee Kwang-deuk, who was arrested and indicted together, and Director Jeon also appeared in court. In addition, the audience, who appeared to be fandom 'Aris', filled the courtroom, while Kim Ho-joong's father and a person believed to be his real brother were also reported to have watched the trial in the front row of the audience.
The prosecution asked Kim Ho-joong to be sentenced to three and a half years in prison, saying, `Please consider the fact that the systematic obstruction of justice caused public resentment.' He also demanded three years in prison for Lee and the former head of the division, respectively. Kim Ho-joong's manager, identified only by his surname Jang, was asked to be sentenced to one year in prison.
Kim Ho-joong's lawyer admitted to the charges, but the defendant was severely punished by the public and public opinion at a time when he was being investigated for this case. The defendant has donated as soon as possible to repay the love he has received from the public. Given the opportunity, I will remember difficult and marginalized places as soon as I can. We hope for lenient punishment to the extent that the law allows us to do so as much as possible."
Regarding the reason for requesting bail, the defendant has been detained for more than four months since his imprisonment on May 24, saying, "It is only for urgent treatment for severe ankle pain." The pain in his ankle, which the accused had suffered a long time ago, has worsened and he is having a hard time day by day" he appealed.
"The defendant tried to have surgery on both ankles, but he couldn't have surgery (so far) due to a murderous schedule."I was holding out with a drug prescription, but these drugs were classified as drugs and could not be brought into the detention center, so I could not even take them", he explained.
In his final statement, Kim Ho-joong said, `First of all, I would like to express my apologies to the victim who was affected by this incident"I regret and reflect on the choice of the day even more because of this." I had a lot of time to think and reflect in the detention center last time."
Then "Everything happened because of me. I'd like to take this opportunity to say sorry to the older members"I will not forget this time when I live in the future." In the meantime, "I will try and live a life that does not repeat the same mistakes rather than a life that I am good at 10 times." "I will keep my head up and live upright." I am truly sorry," he added.
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Earlier in May, Kim Ho-joong was drunk and driving on a road in Apgujeong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, when he crossed the central line and hit a taxi from the other side and fled. At the time, manager Kim Ho-joong falsely confessed in two hours of the accident that "I drove," and some employees of the agency damaged the black box memory card of the accident vehicle.
Kim Ho-joong admitted to driving late on the afternoon of the 10th, 17 hours after the accident. At the same time, he said he was not drunk driving, but he also admitted to drinking 10 days after the accident. In response, Kim Ho-joong is accused of dangerous driving, escape, and criminal evacuation teachers under the Specific Crime Aggravated Punishment Act, and CEO Lee, former head of the headquarters, and manager Jang, who tried to conceal the evidence of the case, are also on trial on charges of criminal evacuation teachers and destruction of evidence.
On the other hand, Kim Ho-joong's drunk driving charge was ruled out at the prosecution stage. Considering the fact that Kim Ho-joong drank several times at time intervals, the prosecution did not apply the drunk driving charge, believing that it was difficult to specify the drinking level only by calculating the reverse estimate over time.
The sentencing date for Kim Ho-joong will be held on Nov. 13.
rightlight@sportschosun.com
