Singer Kim Ho-jung, 34, who was sentenced to prison for a drunken hit-and-run and is currently serving time, has been put up for parole review.
According to legal sources on the 5th, Kim, who has been serving his sentence at Somang Prison after his two years and six months in prison was finalized in May, became a candidate for the Justice Ministry's Parole Review Committee (the committee) Christmas parole review. In the Justice Ministry's Parole Review Committee to be held this time, inmates deemed eligible for parole are scheduled to be released on the 24th.
Kim automatically became a candidate under the relevant law, which places inmates up for parole review once certain conditions are met, considering factors such as age, motive, the charge, and risk of reoffending. Under the Criminal Act, a person sentenced to a limited term of imprisonment may be paroled after one-third of the term has passed.
However, given the gravity of the drunken hit-and-run allegations, there is speculation that Kim's parole is unlikely.
Earlier, Kim was arrested and indicted on charges including injury by dangerous driving under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes, for allegedly drinking and driving, crossing the centerline, colliding with a taxi on the opposite side of Apgujeong-ro in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, at about 11:44 p.m. on May 9 last year, fleeing the scene, and having his manager, a person surnamed Jang, turn himself in on his behalf. Kim, who had denied drunk driving, admitted to the crime 10 days after the accident.