Singer Kim Ho-jung, 35, will be released on the 30th, which is tomorrow. It comes a little over 2 years and 1 month after being imprisoned for driving under the influence, causing a crash, and fleeing the scene.
According to Kim Ho-jung's agency and others on the 29th, Kim will be released on the 30th from Somang Prison in Yeoju, Gyeonggi, where he is currently serving time.
This follows his recent passage of a parole review by the Ministry of Justice, and he will return to society about five months earlier than his originally scheduled full-term release date.
Kim Ho-jung was also placed on the list for a Christmas special parole review in December last year, but his release was thwarted at the time after he was deemed ineligible.
Parole eligibility is granted to inmates who have served more than one-third of their sentence and are deemed to have good conduct with no risk of reoffending.
In addition, under the Ministry of Justice's parole guidelines, inmates must serve at least 60% of their term to be placed on the preliminary parole review list.
At about 11:44 p.m. on May 9, 2024, in Gangnam District, Seoul, Kim Ho-jung drove after drinking, crossed the centerline, and collided with an oncoming taxi.
Kim Ho-jung fled the scene and had his manager turn himself in on his behalf at the time, and the agency head and managers removed the dashcam memory card in an attempt to erase signs of drunk driving.
Kim Ho-jung denied driving under the influence, then admitted to the offense 10 days after the crash, and prosecutors detained and indicted him on charges including causing injury by dangerous driving under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.
In the first trial, the court sentenced Kim Ho-jung to two years and six months in prison, and although Kim appealed the verdict, the original ruling was upheld on appeal. Kim abandoned his further appeal and was held at the Seoul Detention Center before being transferred last August to Somang Prison in Yeoju, Gyeonggi.