[Issue ON] "I wonder if you feel guilty".Kim Ho-joong is sentenced to two and a half years in prison in the first trial.

■ Host: ∀ Anchor, Lee Ha-rin Anchor
■ Starring: Lawyer Park Sung-bae

* The text below may differ from the actual broadcast content, so please check the broadcast for more accurate information. Please specify [YTN NewsON] when quoting.

[Anchor]
Singer Kim Ho-joong, who was handed over to trial on charges of 'drinking hit-and-run'. He was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison in the first trial.

[Anchor]
How did you see today's ruling? Let's take a closer look with lawyer Park Sung-bae. Welcome.

[Anchor]
It's a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence. Can I call it withdrawal? What do you think?

[Park Sung-bae]
Some even predicted the possibility of a suspended sentence.Ma saw that there was a higher possibility of imprisonment. Above all, Kim Ho-joong himself seems to have expected a sufficient suspended sentence. However, in light of the existing precedents, it seems that the court's will to set a precedent is largely reflected, as it has a significant impact on the general public through this case.

[Anchor]
If you look at the court's ruling, it is questionable whether you felt guilty. Do these expressions often appear in rulings?

[Park Sung-bae]
The expression "I wonder if you felt guilty" is an expression used when imposing severe punishment, but the ruling shows you buying beer after fleeing. As an adult, not only is it quite questionable whether he has felt any guilt for his actions, but he also makes an excuse that is difficult to understand even though it is clear that he is stumbling under the influence of drinking on CCTV.

It seems that the sentencing greatly reflected the lack of such an investigation in the initial response process. Even if they agreed with the victim, there was a phrase to the effect that serious punishment could not be avoided in light of the attitude toward a series of investigations and trials.

[Anchor]
The prosecution said that they systematically obstructed justice at the final trial, and the head of the agency was sentenced to two years in prison, the head of the agency was sentenced to one and a half years in prison, and the manager was sentenced to one year in prison and two years of probation.

[Park Sung-bae]
In addition to escape injuries and inaction after the accident under the Road Traffic Act, Kim Ho-joong has been accused of escaping, the CEO of the agency has been accused of destroying evidence, and the head of the agency has been accused of destroying evidence in addition to aiding and abetting drunk driving under the Road Traffic Act. Above all, this case is based on a crime of injuring a person or damaging a vehicle in a traffic accident.

In the case of such a crime, minor injuries were caused, and above all, probation and even fines could be imposed as long as the victim agreed. Nevertheless, in the case of Kim Ho-joong, a criminal escape teacher was added, and in fact, a criminal escape teacher who claims someone as the person who drove instead may be fined if he/she is a first-time offender in practice.

[Anchor]
Kim Ho-joong, please show us your allegations, the graphic.

[Park Sung-bae]
In practice, a fine may be imposed. Nevertheless, the fact that all these charges were combined and sentenced to two and a half years in prison means that the criminal escapist was not evaluated as a simple one-off act. Despite the fact that the criminal evacuation teacher was part of the systematic obstruction of justice and agreed with the victim as a minor injury, the systematic obstruction of justice, such as false embroidery and further destruction of evidence, should be withdrawn. In particular, considering the circumstances in which it is difficult to measure alcohol consumption due to the drinking of additional beer after the drunk driving accident, it has been decided that a prison sentence for such an act is inevitable.

[Anchor]
It's also called drinking more beer you just mentioned, a way to get drunk. So, the Kim Ho-joong Prevention Act was created, but do you think this was reflected a lot in the sentence?

[Park Sung-bae]
If a provision to punish obstruction of justice had been premised in the first place, a bigger sentence would have been sentenced. However, even in situations where the sentence cannot be applied, the court seems to have been forced to sentence a higher sentence than other previous cases due to the poor nature of the crime, even on the premise of a crime that has already been established due to various circumstances.

In fact, the Weedmark formula measures the drinking status at the time of the accident based on the amount of alcohol the suspect initially drank according to the type of alcohol, the amount of alcohol consumed, gender, and weight. However, the prosecution was unable to indict him for drunk driving due to the circumstances that he had been drinking several times at time intervals, especially after the accident, but there were many other crimes that seemed to imitate it after this incident. To prevent this situation, the National Assembly has proposed an amendment to the Road Traffic Act, so-called the Kim Ho-jung Prevention Act, and is likely to pass today's plenary session, but this situation should also be considered by the court.

[Anchor]
I took it into consideration. The charge of drunk driving was omitted, but it was taken into account. Then, would the sentence be higher if the drunk driving charge was added?

[Park Sung-bae]
If drunk driving charges have been added, presumably, despite the fact that dangerous driving injuries under the Special Act are already suspected of injury under the Road Traffic Act and the Special Act on the Handling of Traffic Accidents, the reason for separately imposing dangerous driving injuries under the Special Act is to punish crimes that constitute a crime of hitting people while driving while intoxicated.

Under the Special Price Act, dangerous driving figures are applied only when they are above 0.08% blood alcohol level, which is the number of drunk driving license cancellation, so if it was possible to measure drunk driving, it is highly likely that the blood alcohol level of drunk driving would have been set above the level of license cancellation.

The court is not unaware of this situation. Nevertheless, due to the current investigation practice, the prosecution cannot be charged with drunk driving in violation of the Road Traffic Act. This situation can be considered to have included some of the defects in the nature of a series of acts, dangerous driving injuries, escape injuries, and criminal escape teacher acts. If the crime existed in advance, that is, punishment of obstruction of justice would have been given a bigger sentence, but it should be considered that this situation was taken into account as some reasons for the aggravation of sentencing.

[Anchor]
There were many reasons for aggravating sentencing, but Kim Ho-joong also submitted three letters of apology. Anyway, we have already reached an agreement with the victim, and this must have been considered.

[Park Sung-bae]
In fact, Kim Ho-joong applied for bail last August. It was an application to grant bail because he did not receive full treatment when he was in a detention center with severe ankle pain, but the court did not seem to have accepted it.

Usually, if you are willing to accept bail applications, you are often granted bail by holding a separate bail hearing date or holding a separate bail hearing during the trial process. Nevertheless, the fact that he did not respond until the trial was sentenced should be seen as an expression of his willingness to not allow bail.

Rather, it seems that not only does it seem sufficiently treatable while currently in detention, but applying for bail itself is a sign of confidence that he will be sentenced to probation.

It seems that the attitude was seen as rather inferior, and not only refused to apply for bail, but also submitted various letters of apology, but in this case, it seems to take into account the fact that it is difficult to fully believe that he is currently reflecting on himself. In light of the attitude toward investigation and trial so far, it has come to the judgment that a prison sentence and even a serious prison sentence is inevitable.

[Anchor]
What if Kim Ho-joong admitted to driving under the influence from the beginning, admitted it right away, and didn't run away, and transferred it to the victim's hospital?

[Park Sung-bae]
If he immediately admitted to driving under the influence of alcohol, he would have been prosecuted only for drunk driving under the Road Traffic Act and for dangerous driving under the Special Act on the Handling of Traffic Accidents. If he/she is a first-time drunk driver, he/she will be sentenced to less than probation on his/her own, but above all, he/she agreed with the victim, so the fine was virtually clear.

In other words, it could have ended as a fine, but rather, as systematic obstruction of justice such as false confidence and destruction of evidence continued to hide the issue, the police applied for an arrest warrant from the investigation stage and actually issued an arrest warrant.Ma faced a situation where he was sentenced to two years and six months in prison.

[Anchor]
Would non-cooperation have influenced the high sentence of the investigation, such as not providing a mobile phone password?

[Park Sung-bae]
Even if they admit and reflect on their charges late, they are not cooperative with the investigation during the investigation and trial, or in this case, systematic obstruction of justice is already premised, and in that case, they do not actively cooperate with the investigation even when some charges and related evidence are secured. This situation will be fully applied as a reason for aggravating sentencing despite belated reflection and regret.

[Anchor]
In the end, he was punished even harder while trying to cover up the case, but Kim Ho-joong's official position has not come out yet, but he will appeal, right? [Park Sungbae] Very likely to appeal. Above all, the damage to the taxi driver and the victim was minor and agreed.

From Kim Ho-joong's point of view, he was sentenced to a very serious sentence despite all measures taken to the extent that there was no further action to be taken. If so, he will try to get another judgment from another court, that is, the appeals court, by appealing, and from Kim Ho-joong's point of view, his actions had a significant impact on society in general. Nevertheless, it seems that there will be room for the appeals court to make a different judgment only when the plan is presented and how to specifically exercise the good influence to overturn this impact.

[Anchor]
When the court ruled, it acknowledged the crime and the responsibility, albeit belatedly, and considered the fact that it paid 60 million won to the victim and agreed. Isn't this a sentence that was taken into account?

[Park Sung-bae]
Of course. In the case of traffic accidents related to traffic accidents and drunk driving, above all, there is no more serious reduction than agreeing with the victim. Even considering such circumstances, two years and six months in prison means that if they did not agree, they could have been sentenced to more than three years in prison and more than three years and six months in prison as the prosecution demanded.

[Anchor]
Kim Ho-joong sighed when he was sentenced. Kim's lawyer must have told you, but did he think it came out more than expected?

[Park Sung-bae]
I think Kim Ho-joong would have thought the suspended sentence was natural. Perhaps the lawyer gave the same advice, and although there were already inappropriate actions in the beginning, he has repeatedly acknowledged and reflected on the prosecution during the trial, and above all, he agreed with the victim, so there is no more action he can take. As long as he has consistently shown remorse in this state, at least in this situation, in particular, he has been arrested at the investigation stage and has been under investigation and trial for more than six months.

Usually, if you have been investigated and tried while in custody, you are often sentenced to probation because the court has already had the same effect as serving a prison sentence. Considering these circumstances, the lawyer probably advised that there is a high possibility of a suspended sentence, and Kim Ho-joong himself went to hear the sentence, expecting that he would be sentenced to probation, which was unexpected and in June of two years. I think I would have been shocked by the fact that I have to serve more than two more years.

[Anchor]
If you appeal, I think there will be an issue because the prosecution has now requested three and a half years. What is the biggest issue?

[Park Sung-bae]
In fact, as long as all the charges have been admitted, there is no room for further dispute over criminal charges. This is what makes Kim Ho-joong more frustrated, and if so, he should be aware of the adverse effects of his actions on our society and present specific plans on how to use good influence enough to overturn them. Other than that, there is no possibility that the sentence will be lowered.

[Anchor]
I see. Thank you very much. So far, I've been with lawyer Park Sung-bae. Thank you.