Prosecutors, Kim Ho-joong's second trial was also sentenced to three and a half years in prison...Kim Ho-joong's social sorry
Mar 19, 2025
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The Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Appeals Department 5-3 (Chief Judge Kim Ji-sun, So Byung-jin and Kim Yong-joong) held a final trial of Kim Ho-joong's appeal on the morning of the 19th. Earlier, Kim Ho-joong was sentenced to two and a half years in prison in the first trial.
The prosecution demanded the same sentence as the first trial, saying "Please quote the prosecution's appeal." In September last year, the prosecution asked for a sentence of three and a half years in prison in the first trial.
Kim Ho-joong, a legal representative, admitted to driving under the influence of alcohol, but said that he was not drunk enough to make it difficult to drive, adding that there is no charge of dangerous driving under the Special Price Act. Dangerous driving injuries under the Special Price Act are applied when driving while it is difficult to drive normally due to drinking or drugs.
Kim Ho-joong refrained from drinking a large amount of alcohol to control his condition because the performance was in progress. Kim Ho-joong didn't drink much""If you watch closed-circuit (CC) TV of the prosecution, it is impossible to check whether normal driving was impossible due to drinking "
Also "I usually have a serious ankle disorder, so I walked with a limp." Keeping in a fixed position for a long time makes the pain and limp worse.'"This incident has no drinking effects and is difficult to say that it is drunk enough to be unable to drive normally" he insisted.
He also denied the so-called 「Suspicious of getting drunk」 that Kim Ho-joong drank more to avoid a sobriety test. Kim Ho-joong said, `This misunderstanding should not lead to excessive punishment.'
"Kim Ho-joong is right to have done something wrong, and he is desperately reflecting on himself, especially in the appellate court," he said. "Please take into account that the original trial is extremely excessive even in light of the sentencing standards, and there is no criminal punishment."
Kim Ho-joong attended the court wearing a light blue robe and crutches. In his closing statement, he said, `I am truly sorry for causing a social stir"I'll use this as a catalyst to lead a new life different from the previous one..." he said.
He also said, `I sincerely apologize to the victim who suffered damage to his precious daily life due to ridiculous things.' `I spent the past four seasons in the Seoul Detention Center to look into my mistakes and try to reflect on myself with my heart.'
Kim Ho-joong is suspected of driving on a road in Apgujeong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, drunk in May last year, when he crossed the central line and hit a taxi coming from the other side and ran away. At the time, manager Kim Ho-joong falsely confessed in two hours of the accident that "I drove," and some employees of the agency damaged the black box memory card of the accident vehicle. Kim Ho-joong admitted to driving late on the afternoon of the 10th, 17 hours after the accident. At the same time, he said he was not drunk driving, but he also admitted to drinking 10 days after the accident.
The police charged Kim Ho-joong with drunk driving and sent him to the prosecution, but the charges were excluded in the prosecution stage. The prosecution judged that it was difficult to determine the drinking level only by reverse estimation.
Kim Ho-joong's second trial will be held on April 25.
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