Kim Ho-jung “The investigation has been postponed,” but police said, “There has been no coordination of schedule.”

While singer Kim Ho-joong, who is suspected of drunken hit-and-run, claimed that the investigation schedule was postponed due to police circumstances, the police refuted the claim, saying there was no coordination in the first place.

Attorney Cho Nam-kwan, Kim Ho-jung's lawyer, said in a statement released by Kim Ho-jung and his agency on the 17th, "We coordinated a schedule with the police and planned for Kim Ho-jung to appear voluntarily on the afternoon of the 17th to be investigated and express his position to the public, but due to police circumstances, the investigation was canceled." “It was postponed,” he claimed. At the same time, he added, “I decided that it was right to quickly announce the position of Kim Ho-jung and his agency, so I announced the statement late last night.”

However, the police released a statement through multiple media outlets, saying, 'Initially, the attendance schedule was not coordinated or confirmed with Kim Ho-jung's side.' Kim Ho-joong's lawyer is said to have visited the police station around 4 PM on the 16th and expressed his position that 'Kim Ho-joong will appear tomorrow afternoon to be investigated,' but Kim Ho-joong did not appear at the police. In relation to this, the police said, "Just because the main suspect wishes to appear does not mean he or she will be investigated immediately," and "the attendance and schedule may be flexible depending on the investigation schedule."

Additionally, on the 20th, Gangnam Police Station in Seoul applied to the Ministry of Justice to ban Kim Ho-jung and his agency officials from leaving the country. Those who applied for a ban on leaving the country also included Lee Gwang-deuk, CEO of Kim Ho-jung's agency Saengkang Entertainment, the manager who falsely surrendered himself on Kim Ho-jung's behalf on the day of the accident, and the head of the agency who removed the vehicle's black box memory card.

Previously, Kim Ho-jung was charged with running away after causing an accident by colliding with a taxi on a road in Apgujeong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul at around 11:40 pm on the 9th (fleeing and causing death under the Aggravated Punishment Act for Specific Crimes, failure to take action after an accident, etc.). Kim Ho-jung, who continued to deny the suspicion of drunk driving, admitted to drunk driving after finishing the Changwon concert on the 19th, 10 days after the accident, saying, "I have great regret and reflection. I will faithfully participate in the police investigation."

Some point out that Kim Ho-jung knew that he would be subject to a ban on leaving the country and suddenly admitted to the charges in preparation for a worsening situation, such as applying for an arrest warrant in the future, showing that he was faithfully participating in the investigation.

Reporter Lee Min-kyung, Ten Asia 2min_ror@tenasia.co.kr