Search of Kim Ho-jung's Residence on Suspicion of Driver Switch After Hit-and-Run

Agency CEO's Home and Office Also Included in Investigation

The police have conducted a search and seizure operation targeting singer Kim Ho-jung (33), who is suspected of fleeing the scene after causing a minor collision in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

Singer Kim Ho-jung [Photo by Yonhap News]

On the 16th, the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul announced that from around 6:35 p.m., they were carrying out a search and seizure at Kim's residence in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The homes and offices of Lee Kwang-deuk, CEO of the agency Saenggak Entertainment, were also included in the search targets.

Based on the materials secured through the search and seizure, the police plan to specifically verify the whereabouts of Kim and the agency officials following the hit-and-run incident.

The police believe that there were close discussions between Kim and the agency from the time of the hit-and-run accident until Kim appeared at the police station 17 hours later and admitted to driving.

Kim is accused of causing a collision with a taxi on the opposite side of the road in Apgujeong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, around 11:40 p.m. on the 9th, and fleeing the scene (charges include hit-and-run causing injury under the Act on Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes and failure to take measures after an accident).

About three hours after the accident, a male manager in his 30s claimed to the police that he was the one who caused the accident. Instead of returning home immediately after the accident, Kim went to a hotel in Gyeonggi-do and appeared at the police station at around 4:30 p.m. the next day, 17 hours later, ultimately admitting that he, not the manager, was driving.

The police are also investigating the possibility that Kim was driving under the influence, as the alcohol test was conducted a significant time after the accident.