The Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Appeals Division (Judges Kim Ji-sun, So Byung-jin, and Kim Yong-jung) upheld the original sentence of 2 years and 6 months in prison for Kim Ho-joong on charges of aggravated assault and hit-and-run under the Specific Crimes Aggravated Punishment Act, and failing to report an accident under the Road Traffic Act.
The court stated, "The nature of the accident and the subsequent flight are egregious, and the circumstances following the crime are unfavorable. Not only did the defendants participate in an organized escape, but they also actively destroyed evidence after the actual driver was identified as Mr. Kim." The court further noted, "Considering the settlement with the victim, and the fact that the defendant is a first-time offender with no prior convictions, the original sentence does not seem unreasonable," thus rejecting appeals from both the prosecution and Kim's side.
Additionally, the court acknowledged, "Based on statements from those involved, video footage of the vehicle before and after the drinking, and a forensic report on the walking state, it appears that the amount of alcohol consumed by the defendant on the day of the incident was significant. It's not merely a case of being distracted by a cellphone; the accident was caused by a significant impairment of judgment and decision-making ability due to alcohol consumption."
Previously, Kim Ho-joong had submitted over a hundred letters of apology, but the court's decision remained unchanged.
Kim Ho-joong was indicted for fleeing after colliding with a taxi on the opposite side of the road in Gangnam, Seoul, around 11:44 PM on May 9 last year, after drinking and driving. Initially denying the drunk driving, Kim admitted to the crime ten days after the accident. Although the police applied drunk driving charges, the prosecution dropped them at the indictment stage, citing difficulties in confirming the blood alcohol content through back-calculation.
Lee Kwang-deok, the CEO of Kim Ho-joong's agency, Think Entertainment, and the head manager, identified only as Mr. Jeon, were also tried for their involvement in covering up the drunk driving accident. They were both sentenced to 2 years and 1 year and 6 months in prison, respectively, while the manager who falsely turned himself in on behalf of Kim Ho-joong, Mr. Jang, maintained his original sentence of 1 year in prison with 2 years of probation.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)