Petition Submitted to Seoul Central District Court on the 7th
Kim Ho-joong Fans Also Gather 1,500 Petitions
A taxi driver who was a hit-and-run victim of singer Kim Ho-joong submitted a petition to the court requesting leniency for Kim Ho-joong.
According to the legal community on the 8th, taxi driver A, the victim of Kim Ho-joong's hit-and-run accident, submitted a petition to the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 26, which is handling Kim Ho-joong's case, the day before. It is known that A wrote the petition with the intention of "hoping for leniency for Kim Ho-joong." A received outpatient treatment along with vehicle repairs due to the hit-and-run accident, and reached a settlement with Kim Ho-joong's side 35 days after the incident. On the 7th, Kim Ho-joong's lawyer additionally submitted to the court 1,500 petitions submitted by Kim Ho-joong's fans, separate from A's petition.
Singer Kim Ho-jung, who is accused of drunk hit-and-run, was being transferred to the prosecution from Gangnam Police Station in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the morning of May 31. [Photo by Yonhap News]
Kim Ho-joong was indicted on charges of hitting a taxi on the opposite side of the road while driving in Apgujeong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, at around 11:44 p.m. on May 9 and fleeing the scene without taking any action. Denying allegations of drunk driving, he belatedly admitted to drinking 10 days after the accident when evidence of drinking was revealed through CCTV footage. Also, Lee Gwang-deuk, CEO of Kim's agency, instructed Kim's manager to make a false confession after the accident, and the head of the agency attempted to destroy evidence by removing the memory card from Kim's vehicle's black box; both are being tried together on these charges.
On the 10th of last month, Judge Choi Min-hye of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 26 held the first trial for Kim, who was indicted in custody on charges including violation of the Specific Crimes Aggravated Punishment Act (dangerous driving causing injury), and Lee Gwang-deuk, who is charged with aiding the escape of a criminal. The trial concluded about 12 minutes after it began. Kim Ho-joong's side stated, "The inspection and copying of the case records are scheduled for the 15th, so we have not yet reviewed them," and added, "We will state our position on the charges at the next hearing." Lee and the head of the agency admitted to the charges.
Following Kim's admission of drunk driving, the police referred him to the prosecution including the drunk driving charge, but this charge was excluded at the indictment stage. The prosecution judged that it was difficult to determine the blood alcohol level solely by back-calculation because Kim appeared late to the police, and applied only the charges of dangerous driving causing injury and hit-and-run causing injury under the Specific Crimes Aggravated Punishment Act, failure to take measures after an accident under the Road Traffic Act, and aiding the escape of a criminal.
Kim Ho-joong's second trial will be held at 10 a.m. on the 19th at the Seoul Central District Court.
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