ENTERTAINMENT
'Hit-and-run and swapping suspicions' Kim Ho-jung, additional public outrage for misdemeanor crime
Lee Gwang-deuk, his cousin and CEO of Saengkang Entertainment, said on the 16th, "Kim Ho-joong never drank and was unable to deal with the accident due to severe panic." He added, "The memory card of the vehicle's black box was removed first at the manager's discretion, and I He claimed, “He stole my clothes, changed them, and asked me to embroider them instead.”
This claim is nonsensical and difficult to understand, so it feels like Kim Ho-joong's accident was not just a traffic accident, but also something that the agency needs to cover up. Although he said it was "the manager's own judgment," why did he remove the black box memory card, the most important evidence in the case?
As Mr. Lee said, if Kim Ho-joong suffered from panic disorder after the accident and was unable to properly resolve the accident, the manager should have attended the police with the vehicle's black box and told the whole story. However, the whereabouts of the black box were unknown, and the manager even changed Kim Ho-jung's clothes and confessed on his behalf, lying that he had driven the car.
Regarding this, Mr. Lee said, "After the accident, I received a call from the manager and found out about the accident. At that time, I was already in a serious panic after the accident, and I found out that Kim Ho-joong had moved the vehicle without handling the accident due to a wrong decision. He said, “I was very afraid because I thought there would be too much controversy if it became known that Kim Ho-jung was the person involved in the case,” but this is a typical tactic to appeal to emotions.
In addition, Mr. Lee said, "As the representative of the agency, I asked the manager, who is known to have turned himself in, to take Kim Ho-joong's clothes and change them and handle the matter on his behalf." However, the police said that Kim Ho-joong directly called the manager and asked him to 'appear on his behalf.' It is reported that a recording of what was said was obtained. In addition, the key to this incident appears to be the missing black box memory card and the CCTV surrounding the incident.
The public is even more outraged by Mr. Lee's explanation and reacts by calling it "an additional scandalous crime." This is because Kim Ho-joong's agency is alleging that they covered up Kim Ho-joong's crime by their own will, and Kim Ho-joong is actually hiding behind it and not even making an apology.
In particular, Kim Ho-jung aroused public indignation by showing actions filled with lies and unreasonable explanations during the post-accident handling process. Ho-joong Kim did not reflect on himself despite this situation and announced that he would continue with the scheduled ‘Tvarotti Classic Arena Tour 2024’ schedule, adding to the scandal. Despite the uproar caused by the shocking accident, this can be interpreted as an indication that the concert will proceed as scheduled and no economic damage will be incurred.
On the 14th, the agency said through Kim Ho-jung's fan cafe 'Tvarotti', "We plan to proceed with 'Tvarotti Classic Arena Tour 2024' Changwon/Gimcheon and 'World Union Orchestra Super Classic' without any changes to the schedule." The agency's position, "We will do our best to protect the artist, and we promise to protect the artist under any circumstances," is a shameless response that does not read the public sentiment at all.
Choi Ji-ye, Ten Asia Reporter wisdomart@tenasia.co.kr
