Singer Kim Ho-jung, who was indicted on charges of drunk hit-and-run, has given up his appeal and will serve a prison sentence of 2 years and 6 months, while his fan club conveyed its unwavering support and commitment to stand by him.
According to the legal community, Kim Ho-jung's side filed an appeal with the Supreme Court on the 13th, but ultimately gave up the appeal, confirming the sentence of 2 years and 6 months.
Kim Ho-jung is facing allegations of driving a car in May last year in a street in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, colliding with a taxi and fleeing, while having his manager file a false confession. Kim Ho-jung appeared at the police station 17 hours after the incident, but was suspected of deliberately drinking more to avoid punishment for drunk driving in what is referred to as 'drunk driving.'
Kim Ho-jung received a sentence of 2 years and 6 months in both the first and second trials. The court stated, "Based on the testimonies of witnesses, footage from bars before and after drinking, and driving videos, it appears the amount of alcohol consumed by the defendant on the day of the incident was significant. His cognitive and judgment abilities were severely impaired due to alcohol, leading to the accident."
Through his legal representative, Kim Ho-jung submitted an appeal within six days of the sentence, but immediately gave up the appeal. Following the verdict, Kim Ho-jung submitted the appeal while continuing legal consultations with a large law firm, but it is reported that he ultimately decided to forgo the appeal after much consideration.
After the news of Kim Ho-jung's decision to abandon the appeal, his fan club stated through their fan cafe, "We must respect that decision. And what is more important is that we continue to do everything we can together for his quicker return."
In particular, the fan club noted that during the discussions about the appeal, some rumors had spread, saying, "There are claims that the singer hired a public defender because he has no money, and that he had no choice but to use a public defender as no one helped him. We clarify that these statements are clearly factual distortions," adding, "There has been a private legal representation team that has been continuously meeting and discussing with the singer even after the appeal trial, and they had already completed the contract drafting for the appeal trial."
It was added, "Ultimately, the singer decided to nullify all legal responses and cancel the appeal based on his decision. In that process, the court procedurally auto-designated a public defender to ensure the defendant's rights under the Criminal Procedure Act, and as a result, the name of the public defender appeared temporarily in the case search system."
The fan club stated, "Nevertheless, the act of distorting this information to mention the singer's economic situation or isolated circumstance and spreading false information is a serious issue that ultimately harms the singer's reputation," and added, "The official fan cafe respects the singer's wishes and will continue to fulfill a social role with unity and moderation, maintaining its center without wavering while preparing for the singer's return."
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