Trot singer Kim Ho-jung (34), who was sentenced to a prison term in the second trial for fleeing after causing a traffic accident while intoxicated, has appealed to the Supreme Court.
According to the legal circles on the 2nd, Kim's attorney submitted a notice of appeal to the Seoul Central District Court's 5-3 Criminal Appeal Division (Chief Judge Kim Ji-sun, So Byeong-jin, Kim Yong-joong) the previous day. However, Lee Kwang-deuk (41), the former head of Think Entertainment (now Art M&C), and a former Deputy Minister, who were sentenced to prison for instructing manager Jang to voluntarily surrender, submitted a notice of abandonment of appeal.
Earlier, on the 25th of last month, the second trial court rejected Kim's appeal, which was brought on charges of violating the Special Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (causing injury through dangerous driving), and imposed the same sentence of two years and six months imprisonment as the first trial. The second trial court noted, "The amount of alcohol consumed by the defendant (Kim) on the day of the incident appears to be significant. It cannot be viewed as simply causing an accident by manipulating a mobile phone," and pointed out, "It is judged that the defendant's judgment and decision-making ability were significantly impaired due to alcohol consumption, leading to the accident."
The court also stated, "At the time he was supposed to meet Mr. Jeon, who was to voluntarily surrender, he was present while making a call to the manager and also asked the manager to do this," and added, "He met Jang, changed clothes, and left the scene, even leaving a false call with Jang." It further stated, "The nature of the crimes of the accident and fleeing is bad, and the circumstances following the crime are not good," rejecting the claim that the sentence was heavy.
Kim was charged after causing an accident around 11:40 p.m. on May 9 of last year, in which he crashed into a taxi on the opposite side of the road in Apgujeong-dong, Gangnam District, Seoul, and fled the scene. After being in hiding, Kim appeared to the police 17 hours later and confessed to driving.
At that time, Kim denied the drinking allegations, but as evidence of intoxication emerged, such as closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage, he acknowledged the drinking fact about ten days after the accident. However, the prosecution found it difficult to specify Kim's exact blood alcohol level at the time using the Widmark formula for retroactively estimating blood alcohol concentration, and therefore did not indict him on charges of drunk driving under the Road Traffic Act.