'2 years and 6 months imprisonment sentence' Kim Ho-jung
Newly appointed lawyer suddenly resigns
Repeated resignations and dismissals of legal team so far
Singer Kim Ho-jung, who was sentenced to prison for hit-and-run while driving under the influence, has filed an appeal, and it has been revealed that his lawyer resigned after just ten days.
According to a JTBC report on the 3rd, a lawyer from the law firm Hanbyeol, representing Kim Ho-jung, recently resigned. Previously, on the 13th of last month, Kim Ho-jung was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison by Judge Choi Min-hye of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 26.
He immediately appealed on the day of the sentencing and submitted an additional power of attorney for the law firm Hanbyeol two days later. Then, on the 21st of last month, after submitting a certificate of mailing, it appeared that the defense team was being strengthened following lawyer Chu Hyung-woon, who had been representing him alone. However, five days later, it was revealed that the lawyer from Hanbyeol suddenly resigned.
It has been confirmed that Kim Ho-jung’s defense team has frequently experienced resignations and dismissals. At the beginning of the case, they hired former prosecutor general acting officer and former government official lawyer Jo Nam-gwan, who eventually resigned. Subsequently, lawyers from the law firms Daehwan and Hyundae also resigned. Additionally, lawyer Lee Ho-seon, who was reportedly requested by Kim Ho-jung’s father, was also dismissed. Since then, Kim Ho-jung did not add any more lawyers but seemed to be planning to reorganize the defense team ahead of the appeal trial.
Earlier, Kim Ho-jung is accused of driving under the influence on May 9th on a road in Apgujeong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, hitting a taxi coming from the opposite direction and fleeing the scene. Right after the accident, he had his manager turn himself in on his behalf. Kim Ho-jung consistently denied drunk driving, but after CCTV footage and other circumstances surfaced, he admitted to the crime ten days after the accident. A representative from his agency also admitted to removing the black box storage device from the accident vehicle in an attempt to destroy evidence, acknowledging the wrongdoing belatedly. Kim Ho-jung was also suspected of using a so-called "sultagi" method, deliberately drinking more alcohol to avoid punishment for drunk driving. The prosecution stated that although Kim Ho-jung was intoxicated to the point where normal driving was difficult, they could not clearly specify his blood alcohol concentration at the time of the accident and therefore did not indict him on drunk driving charges.
At the sentencing hearing on September 30th, Kim Ho-jung said, "I will try to live a life where I do not repeat the same mistakes rather than a life where I do well ten times," and added, "I will pull myself together and live properly." He also submitted letters of apology on three occasions?September 5th, October 16th, and October 28th?pleading for leniency. However, the first trial court sentenced Kim Ho-jung to 2 years and 6 months in prison, while former Saenggak Entertainment (now Art M&C) CEO Lee Kwang-deuk, who was charged with aiding and abetting the escape of a criminal, was sentenced to 2 years in prison, and former head Jeon received a sentence of 1 year and 6 months.
The court pointed out, "Despite causing personal and property damage by hitting the taxi driven by the victim while driving under the influence, he irresponsibly fled the scene and had his manager and others falsely turn themselves in to the investigative authorities on his behalf," adding, "This caused confusion in the initial investigation and significantly wasted police investigative resources." The court further stated, "His overall attitude, such as fleeing to a motel after the accident and purchasing beer before checking in, raises doubts about whether he felt any remorse for the wrongdoing he committed as an adult," and judged, "Despite objective evidence from CCTV footage showing him staggering under the influence of alcohol, he denied the charges with implausible excuses, and his behavior after the crime was also poor."
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