Popera Singer Kim Ho-joong Released on Parole After Serving Two Years for 2024 Drunk-Driving Hit-and-Run

Popera singer Kim Ho-joong was released on parole Tuesday from a prison in Yeoju after serving 767 days for a hit-and-run incident. Yonhap reported that Kim rammed his car into a taxi in the opposite lane while driving drunk on May 9, 2024, then fled the scene and directed his manager to turn himself in.

Prosecutors charged him only with causing injury by dangerous driving and fleeing the scene after determining it was difficult to measure his alcohol level retroactively.

The singer received a 2½-year prison term and was due for release in November. His agency said he passed a parole review by the justice ministry last week. Dozens of fans lined the road outside the facility, about 60 kilometers southeast of Seoul, holding signs that read "We love you" and "We have waited for you.

In a handwritten letter posted to his online fan community, Kim said he would continue to reflect on his actions and take greater responsibility. "I will clearly see the situation and the position I face myself in, and live without straying from the right path," he wrote.