Singer Kim Ho-joong, who has been sentenced to prison for hit and run charges related to drinking, sent a brazen letter to fans asking them to wait for him from prison.
On the 10th, a media outlet revealed Kim Ho-joong's letter from prison. The letter was written on February 12. Kim Ho-joong expressed his gratitude, saying, "My dear Aris, thank you so much for sending your heartfelt feelings. I am currently reflecting on my past self," and added, "Creating a shield of familiarity has led me to take my past for granted.. Stepping back to look at the world, I realize how beautiful this world is that I have been living in only now."
Kim Ho-joong said, "I have lived without being Kim Ho-joong, but thanks to Aris, I have found myself writing this today. The world tells me I have lost everything," and he emphasized, "But I want to confidently say that I have gained more. That we have each other... that we have family... that we are..." expressing his affectionate feelings toward his fans.
He continued, "We cannot live forever. Knowing that there will definitely be a farewell someday allows me to be faithful to life right now. I will no longer let it slip by. I will miss you even more today, I will be grateful even more today, and I will love even more today. My beloved family, I miss you so much, and I long for you."
He added, "I hope you will stay healthy until the day we can greet each other again and thank you once again for being the bright light in the world."
On May 9 of last year, Kim Ho-joong was involved in an incident where he drove under the influence and collided with a taxi parked on the opposite road before fleeing the scene. After the accident, Kim Ho-joong's manager turned himself in instead, and Kim Ho-joong acknowledged that he was the driver only 17 hours later. He admitted to the crime ten days after the incident.
As a result, Kim Ho-joong was indicted for violations of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, including dangerous driving resulting in injury and fleeing after an accident, as well as violations of road traffic laws for failing to assist after an accident and aiding and abetting an offender. However, the drinking driving charge was omitted. Kim Ho-joong acknowledged drinking, but the prosecution excluded the drinking driving charge during the indictment phase, believing he used the 'drinking jump' method by purchasing and consuming alcohol after crashing into the taxi.
On November 13 of the same year, during his final statement at the first trial sentencing, Kim Ho-joong said, "I regret and reflect on the choices I made that day. I will not repeat the same mistakes" and pleaded for leniency, but the court stated, "It is irresponsible to have fled and even made your manager turn himself in with falsehoods. This caused confusion in the initial investigation, and police resources were significantly wasted," and sentenced him to two years and six months in prison.
Kim Ho-joong's side emphasized that they had reached an agreement with the taxi driver, who was the victim, and submitted an appeal that day. The prosecution also appealed on the grounds of inappropriate sentencing.
Later, on the 12th of last month, the first hearing of Kim Ho-joong's appeal trial was held by the 5th-3 Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Director General Kim Ji-sun, Seo Byeong-jin, Kim Yong-jung). Kim Ho-joong's lawyer claimed that he did not use the so-called 'drinking jump' method to obstruct blood alcohol concentration testing after the accident. During this process, it was stated, "The 'drinking jump' method is a typical pattern where one drinks strong liquor after anticipating a testing situation, making accurate measurement impossible. If it were a drinking jump, he would have drunk strong liquor rather than canned beer."
Kim Ho-joong's lawyer argued that "it is difficult to understand that a physically robust man in his 30s would choose such drinks to increase his blood alcohol level," while also raising his voice to assert that Kim Ho-joong did not buy and consume canned beer for the drinking jump method since he knew the manager would turn himself in.
In contrast to his earlier pleas for leniency while acknowledging all charges, he suddenly began to defend himself. He categorically denied the major issue of 'drinking jump allegations' and took a step back regarding the manager's false confession in a clever attempt to lessen the weight of the crime.
[Photo] OSEN DB
[OSEN]