Suspicion of Drunk Driving in Driver Swap Incident
The police have launched a compulsory investigation into the incident where trot singer Kim Ho-joong caused a traffic accident and fled the scene.
According to the police on the 15th, the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul applied for a search warrant the day before, citing the absence of a memory card in Kim's vehicle black box.
Kim is suspected of hit-and-run (failure to take measures after an accident) after colliding with an oncoming taxi on a road in Apgujeong-dong, Gangnam-gu, around 11:40 p.m. on the 9th.
About three hours after the accident, a male manager in his 30s, who manages Kim, came to the police wearing the clothes Kim had worn at the time of the accident and testified that he was the one who caused the accident. Kim appeared at the police station at 4:30 p.m. the next day, 17 hours after the accident, and eventually admitted that he was the one who had been driving.
There is also evidence that Kim was driving under the influence of alcohol when the accident occurred. The police reportedly secured a recorded file in which Kim asked his manager to appear at the police station on his behalf, saying that the accident happened while he was driving drunk.
The police are reportedly investigating the possibility that the agency tried to cover up the incident. They are also considering applying charges of aiding a criminal for Kim's manager and others.
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