Kim Ho-joong, cleared of drinking charges, citizens' public outrage... Legal world: “Forgiveness will be difficult”

Alcohol could not be measured due to running away after drunken hit and run (obstruction of justice)
Democratic Shin Young-dae proposes the ‘Kim Ho-joong Prevention Act’

Trot singer Kim Ho-jung (33), who is suspected of drunk driving and hit-and-run, and the representative of his agency have been arrested and indicted, and public outrage has arisen because the ‘drunk driving charge’ against Mr. Kim has been excluded.
 
There is criticism that the claim that “I drank alcohol, but not drunk driving” has become a reality, clearly revealing loopholes in the judicial system.
 
In the end, Shin Young-dae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, even proposed the so-called (tentative name) ‘Kim Ho-jung Prevention Act’, which contained angry public opinion.
 
The expert pointed out that he is a celebrity loved by the public and pointed out, “It will be difficult for him to be forgiven.”
 
On the 18th, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's Criminal Division 5 (Chief Prosecutor Kim Tae-heon) arrested and indicted Mr. Kim on charges of violating the Special Price Act (dangerous driving resulting in injury, causing injury while running away), violating the Road Traffic Act (taking measures after an accident), and instigating criminals to flee.
 
The prosecution announced that after sending the case, it clearly established that Mr. Kim had difficulty driving normally due to the influence of alcohol through forensics and call records of the defendants' mobile phones and improvement of closed-circuit (CCTV) image quality.
 
However, due to Mr. Kim's obstruction of justice, such as switching drivers, it was impossible to measure his blood alcohol concentration, so he was not prosecuted for violating the Road Traffic Act (drunk driving).
 
It was believed that it was difficult to specify the drinking level using the ‘Withmark’ formula, which back-estimates blood alcohol concentration. The ‘Withmark’ formula estimates the blood alcohol concentration level at the time of driving by applying a general reduction figure, but the exact figure is unknown due to Mr. Kim’s obstruction of justice (running away after committing the crime).
 
Afterwards, he took his time denying the drunk driving charge, citing his manager as the leader. In the end, the police, who were unable to accurately measure Mr. Kim's alcohol level at the time of the accident, applied the Widmark formula and determined that Mr. Kim's blood alcohol level at the time of the accident exceeded the license revocation standard (0.03%) and handed it over to the prosecution.
 
The prosecution said, “We will do our best to maintain the indictment so that the sentence is commensurate with the crime, and we will continue to respond strictly to ‘running away after a drunk traffic accident’ that threatens the lives of innocent citizens and obstruction of justice that plays with the judicial system.”
 
As loopholes in the law are revealed, voices call for a revision of the law. This is because in order to prevent the ‘second Kim Ho-jung incident,’ improvements in Weedmark accuracy and regulations to punish intentional interference with measurement are needed.
 
Shin Young-dae, a member of the National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee and the Democratic Party of Korea, proposed the so-called 'Kim Ho-jung Prevention Act' (a partial amendment to the Road Traffic Act) the day before (19th).
 
The amendment proposed by Rep. Shin prohibits drinking additional alcohol for the purpose of making it difficult to measure the state of intoxication, and violates the law by imposing a prison sentence of 2 to 5 years or a fine of 10 million won to 20 million won.
 
Representative Shin pointed out, “Intentional additional drinking is a serious crime that avoids responsibility for one’s actions and intentionally obstructs the judicial process.”
 
The legal community predicted that he would not be able to avoid imprisonment.
 
Attorney Kim In-won of Daeryun Law Firm said in a phone call with Segye Ilbo on this day (20th), “Even though Mr. Kim was not indicted for drunk driving, he was arrested and indicted on charges of causing injury by dangerous driving and causing death by running away under the Aggravated Punishment for Specific Crimes Act, taking after-effects of an accident under the Road Traffic Act, and instigating criminals to flee,” and pointed out, “Even if there was no accurate breathalyzer test, looking at the vehicle on the CCTV, he inflicted injuries while he was unable to drive normally, and in particular, no relief measures were taken.”
 
He continued, "Mr. Kim is a celebrity loved by the public and has received love and support from fans," and added, "Nevertheless, he drank alcohol before a performance. As a musician (tenor), this seems problematic. As a lawyer and a musician, I can't even imagine drinking alcohol before a performance."
 
He said, “The sense of betrayal that fans will feel is indescribable,” and added, “Mr. Kim has these two problems. Drunk driving itself is bad, but it is difficult to forgive him for betraying the trust of his fans.”
 
In addition, Attorney Kim predicted, “This is a normal case, and the sentence may be aggravated,” and added, “Although we reached an agreement with the victim, a prison sentence is expected.”
 
Meanwhile, Mr. Kim is suspected of running away after causing an accident on the Apgujeong-dong road in Gangnam-gu, Seoul around 11:40 pm on the 9th of last month, hitting a taxi on the opposite side of the road.
 
Suspicion of 'driver switching' was raised when Mr. Kim's manager falsely surrendered himself instead of Mr. Kim, who fled immediately after the accident. Mr. Kim went into hiding, but only after 17 hours did he appear before the police and admit to driving.
 
Mr. Kim, who denied the suspicion of drinking, admitted to drinking on the 19th and was arrested on the 24th when CCTV footage and other evidence of drinking were revealed. Seoul Gangnam Police Station transferred Mr. Kim and his agency officials to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on the 31st of last month.
 
It was revealed that Mr. Kim reached an agreement with the victim on the 13th, 35 days after the accident occurred.
 
Kim Ho-jung's side claimed, "The police did not provide contact information, so agreement with the victim was delayed," but the police countered, saying, "It was his fault that he did not make an effort."
 
The police emphasized, "It is personal information, but the police should not give out the number. The police who did not give (contact information) followed the rules well."
 
At the same time, he emphasized, “You should make an effort to identify the victim and find a taxi company, not blame the police.”

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