‘Drunk Driving Hit-and-Run Charge’ Kim Ho-jung Sentenced to 2 Years and 6 Months in First Trial

Trot singer Kim Ho-jung (33), who was indicted on charges of 'drunk hit-and-run,' was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison in the first trial.

Singer Kim Ho-jung accused of hit-and-run under the influence. Photo by Yonhap News

On the morning of the 13th, Judge Choi Min-hye of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 26 presided over the sentencing trial for Kim’s case involving violations of the Specific Crimes Aggravated Punishment Act (dangerous driving causing injury and hit-and-run causing injury), violations of the Road Traffic Act (failure to take measures after an accident), and aiding a criminal’s escape. Judge Choi sentenced Kim to 2 years and 6 months in prison.

Additionally, former CEO Lee Kwang-deuk of Saenggak Entertainment (now Art M&C), who was indicted for aiding a criminal’s escape, was sentenced to 2 years in prison, and former director Jeon received a sentence of 1 year and 6 months. Manager Jang, who was indicted for evidence tampering, was sentenced to 1 year in prison with a 2-year probation.

The court stated, “Kim Ho-jung irresponsibly fled after causing personal and property damage by colliding with the victim’s taxi while driving under the influence. Furthermore, he had his manager and others falsely surrender to the investigative authorities on his behalf,” and pointed out, “This caused confusion in the initial investigation and significantly wasted police investigative resources.” The court also said, “Despite objective evidence from CCTV showing him staggering under the influence of alcohol, Kim made implausible excuses and denied the charges, showing poor conduct after the crime.”

Kim is accused of driving under the influence on the evening of May 9 at 11:44 p.m. on Apgujeong-ro in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, crossing the center line, colliding with a taxi on the opposite lane, and fleeing the scene. He is also accused of having his manager surrender on his behalf immediately after the accident.

Kim initially denied the drunk driving but admitted to the crime ten days after the accident. The police applied drunk driving charges and referred Kim to the prosecution, but these charges were excluded at the indictment stage. The prosecution judged that it was difficult to specify the blood alcohol level solely by retroactive calculation, considering that Kim drank alcohol multiple times over a period.

Earlier, at the sentencing hearing in September, the prosecution requested the court to sentence Kim to 3 years and 6 months in prison, stating, “Kim caused an accident by crossing the center line while intoxicated and then engaged in organized obstruction of justice,” and “Considering the public outrage caused.”

In his final statement, Kim said, “I am sorry to the victim and will reflect on my actions. Now that I have come this far, I regret my choices that day even more,” and added, “I will try to live a life where I do not repeat the same mistakes rather than a life where I do well ten times. I will pull myself together and live properly.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.