Singer Kim Ho-joong, who had been serving a prison sentence for a DUI hit-and-run, has been released on parole.
On the morning of the 30th, Kim walked out of Somang Correctional Institution in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province. He got into a waiting car inside the facility and left without making any remarks to the press gathered at the main gate.
Fans gathered near the prison as well. Around 70 fans dressed in purple held hand banners that read, "You really went through so much. We love you" and "We waited. Let’s be happy now," as they awaited his release.
Earlier, on the 23rd, Kim’s agency announced, "Kim Ho-joong recently passed the Ministry of Justice’s parole review." As a result, Kim returned to society roughly five months earlier than his original release date set for November.
In May 2024, Kim was indicted on charges of crossing the center line and crashing into a taxi coming the other way in the Apgujeong area of Gangnam-gu, Seoul, after drinking and driving, then fleeing the scene. He was also accused of having his manager turn himself in on his behalf.
Immediately after the incident, Kim and his agency denied the DUI, but about 10 days later they acknowledged it, fueling controversy. Prosecutors, however, determined it was difficult to pinpoint his exact blood alcohol concentration at the time based solely on back-calculation, and excluded the DUI charge at indictment. Instead, they charged him with dangerous driving causing injury and fleeing the scene causing injury under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.
Both the first and second trial courts sentenced Kim to two years and six months in prison. After Kim withdrew his appeal to the Supreme Court, the sentence became final. He was initially held at the Seoul Detention Center and, last August, was transferred to Somang Correctional Institution, the country’s only private prison, where he served his term.
While incarcerated, this past April, Kim posted a handwritten letter on his official fan café, writing in effect, "I will etch my wrongdoing into my bones."