Singer Kim Hojoong, who had been serving a prison sentence at Somang Prison in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, following a drunk driving hit-and-run accident, was released on parole today (June 30).

Kim boarded a vehicle inside the prison at 10:00 a.m. today and left the facility without appearing before the approximately 30 reporters waiting at the main gate.

Before getting into the vehicle, Kim was briefly captured by cameras wearing a black suit and a mask.

On the roadside near the prison entrance, about 70 of Kim's fans, dressed in purple, waited for him holding handmade banners with messages such as, "You worked so hard. We love you," and "We waited for you. Let's be happy now."

Previously, on June 23, Kim's agency announced, "Kim Hojoong recently passed the parole review by the Ministry of Justice."

With this parole, Kim returns to society five months earlier than his original full-term release date, which had been scheduled for November.

Kim was arrested and indicted on charges including dangerous driving resulting in injury under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes. On May 9, 2024, at 11:44 p.m., he drove under the influence in Apgujeong-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, crossed the center line, collided with a taxi in the opposite lane, fled the scene, and had his manager, surnamed Jang, turn himself in as the driver instead.

Although he initially denied the drunk driving allegations, he admitted to the crime ten days after the accident.

At the time, the prosecution determined that it was difficult to confirm the exact blood alcohol concentration at the time of the incident through back-calculation alone, so they excluded the drunk driving charge during the indictment and applied only charges such as dangerous driving resulting in injury and fleeing the scene under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes.

The first and second trial courts sentenced Kim to two years and six months in prison, and the sentence was finalized after Kim withdrew his appeal to the Supreme Court.

Kim, who had been serving his sentence at the Seoul Detention Center, was transferred to Somang Prison, the only private prison in Korea, in August of last year.

(Photo: Yonhap News)