The prison sentence for singer Kim Ho-jung, who is facing charges of drunk hit-and-run, has been confirmed.
According to the legal community, Kim Ho-jung submitted a petition to withdraw his appeal to the Supreme Court on the 19th. As a result, the two years and six months imprisonment sentence he received in both the first and second trials for the drunk hit-and-run charges has been upheld.
The representative of the agency and the Deputy Minister, who were indicted alongside Kim Ho-jung, also did not appeal the second trial ruling, resulting in confirmed sentences of two years and one year and six months, respectively.
On May 9th last year, Kim Ho-jung drove under the influence of alcohol and hit a taxi that was parked on the opposite side of the road in Apgujeong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, and fled the scene. After the accident, Kim Ho-jung's manager turned himself in, and Kim Ho-jung appeared before the police 17 hours later, admitting that he had been driving. He was subsequently indicted on charges of causing injury and fleeing under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, failing to provide assistance after an accident under the Road Traffic Act, and aiding a criminal. However, the charge of drunk driving was excluded. Kim Ho-jung admitted to drinking, and the police confirmed that he had dined with acquaintances at a restaurant in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, where alcoholic beverages were served before the accident, but the prosecution excluded drunk driving charges at the indictment stage because Kim Ho-jung used the so-called "drunk escape method" by buying and drinking alcohol after hitting the taxi and fleeing. During the first trial held on November 13th last year, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 26, presided over by Judge Choi Min-hye, sentenced him to two years and six months in prison. Both Kim Ho-jung's side and the prosecution appealed, and during the second trial held last month, the court upheld the two years and six months prison sentence.
The court stated, "Considering the testimonies of those involved, videos of entering and exiting the bar before and after drinking, and vehicle driving footage, it appears that the amount of alcohol consumed by the defendant on the day of the incident was significant," adding that "the defendant's ability to think and make judgments was severely impaired by alcohol, leading to the accident."
Afterward, Kim Ho-jung submitted an appeal six days after sentencing through his legal representative, but soon surrendered the appeal. Right after the verdict, Kim Ho-jung submitted the appeal and continued legal reviews with major law firms, but it is reported that he decided to abandon the appeal after careful consideration.
[Photo] OSEN DB
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