Ho-joong Kim, even defaulted on his debt due to suspicions of school violence

Regarding singer Kim Ho-joong (33), who is suspected of 'drunken hit-and-run', suspicions such as past school violence and default on debt are continuing one after another.

An interview with a victim who said she was abused by Kim Ho-jung was released on the 22nd through the YouTube channel 'Caracula Media'. The victim who appeared in the video said that she was a year junior at Gyeongbuk Arts High School and claimed, "When Kim Ho-jung was a second year student and I was a first year student, I was assaulted indiscriminately for more than 30 minutes for not saying hello."

An acquaintance who was close friends with Kim Ho-jung while attending Gyeongbuk Arts High School also appeared in the video. He said, “Since Kim Ho-joong is good at singing and has good skills, the school often overlooked (the fact of school violence) even though they knew about it, with the intention of rehabilitating him in the hope that he would become a graduate who would make the school’s name known.”

He then explained, "There was a rumor that I was forced to transfer because of my gang life, but that is also not true. At the time, I received demerit points and disciplinary action several times due to school bullying and disloyalty to school life, so I was transferred."

In addition, it became known belatedly that Kim Ho-joong had failed to repay his former manager's money and lost part of the case in court. In January last year, the Changwon District Court ruled in partial favor of Mr. A, saying that it was acknowledged that Mr. A, Kim Ho-jung's former manager, lent Mr. Kim 12 million won on 22 occasions.

Mr. A requested that 23 million won, minus the settlement amount, of the money he had sent to Kim Ho-jung so far be returned as it was lent to him. Kim Ho-jung's side said it was an absurd claim, but the court ruled in Mr. A's favor. The day after losing the case, Kim Ho-jung's side applied to the court to restrict viewing, saying, "Please do not allow other people to see the judgment."

Previously, Gangnam Police Station in Seoul applied for an arrest warrant for Kim Ho-jung and the representative and head of his agency on the 22nd, and the Seoul Central District Court scheduled the substantive review for the 24th. However, Kim Ho-jung's side is known to have applied to postpone the interrogation of the suspect before arrest, which was scheduled for 12 o'clock on the 23rd.

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