Kim Ho-joong Sentenced to Two and a Half Years in Prison for Drunk Hit-and-Run Incident
Nov 13, 2024
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On the 13th, the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Chamber 26 (Judge Choi Min-hye) sentenced Kim Ho-joong, who was arrested and charged with dangerous driving injuries and running injuries under the Specific Crime Weighted Penalty Act, and inaction after an accident under the Road Traffic Act, to two and a half years in prison. Former Thinking Entertainment CEO Lee Kwang-deuk and Director Jeon, who are accused of helping Kim Ho-joong destroy evidence, were sentenced to two years in prison, a year and a half in prison, and Kim Ho-joong's manager Jang, who swallowed a memory chip containing the accident site, was sentenced to one year in prison and two years of probation.
Earlier, Kim Ho-joong was arrested on May 24 on charges of hitting an oncoming taxi on a road in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul at around 11:40 p.m. on May 9 (not taken action after the accident under the Road Traffic Act), that is, hit-and-run accident). Shortly after the hit-and-run accident, Kim Ho-joong urged his agency manager Jang to give false information and hid the drunk driving situation at the time of the accident by buying additional alcohol at a hotel in Guri, Gyeonggi-do, with another agency official, Jeon. In addition, even during the investigation in earnest, the process of concealing crimes, such as hiding cell phone passwords and removing the black box of the accident vehicle, was revealed one after another, causing public outrage.
In the final hearing held on September 30th, the prosecution caused public resentment by committing serious and systematic acts of obstruction of justiceHe also demanded a three-and-a-half-year prison term for Kim Ho-joong. In response, lawyer Kim Ho-joong responded, "Please consider that we have agreed with the victim and that the victim does not want punishment. Please make the judgment as lenient as possible to the extent that the law allows."
In his final statement, Kim Ho-joong also said, `I am sorry to the victim. I'm going to reflect on myself. Having come this far, I regret my choice that day even more. I will try to live a life that does not repeat the same mistakes rather than a life that I am good at 10 times. I reflected a lot in the detention center. I'll do my best", expressing his willingness to reflect, he wrote a letter of apology to the court three times.
soulhn1220@sportschosun.com
