[All] ‘Kim Ho-joong Prevention Law’ Appears “Fleeing after an Accident and Drinking More, Strong Punishment”

Trot singer Kim Ho-joong is being transferred from the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul to the prosecution on the morning of the 31st. Newsis

Drinking alcohol for the purpose of evading crackdowns is severely punished

The so-called 'Kim Ho-joong Prevention Act' was proposed in the National Assembly. Its gist is to strictly prohibit additional drinking to avoid being caught after drinking, and to impose severe punishments on those who violate it.

Previously, Kim Ho-joong ran away to avoid a DUI crackdown and drank alcohol, and was not charged with 'drunk driving' because the exact DUI level could not be confirmed. The purpose of the bill is to prevent such behavior of distorting the results of a DUI test.

Representative Shin Young-dae (Democratic Party of Korea) of the National Assembly Planning and Finance Committee announced on the 19th that he had introduced the ‘Partial Amendment to the Road Traffic Act.’

The amendment bans drinking additional alcohol for the purpose of making it difficult to measure one's state of intoxication, and imposes a prison sentence of two to five years or a fine of 10 million to 20 million won for violations.

Rep. Shin said, "Drunk driving is not just a simple violation of the law; it is an act that seriously threatens the lives and safety of the people," adding, "In particular, intentional additional drinking is a serious crime that avoids responsibility for one's actions and intentionally obstructs judicial proceedings."

He said, "If this bill passes, it will greatly contribute to raising awareness about drunk driving and reducing the damage caused by drunk driving."

On the 18th, Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's 5th Criminal Division (Chief Prosecutor Kim Tae-heon) indicted and arrested Kim Ho-joong on charges of dangerous driving resulting in death and hit-and-run under the Aggravated Punishment Act for Specific Crimes, failure to take action after an accident under the Road Traffic Act, and aiding and abetting a criminal's escape. The drunk driving charge that the police included when they sent Kim Ho-joong to the prosecution at the end of last month was ultimately omitted at the indictment stage. This is because they could not confirm the exact blood alcohol level, so they could not punish those who had previously fled after driving drunk.

In particular, the prosecution determined that it would be difficult to determine the level of alcohol consumption through reverse estimation alone, considering that Kim Ho-joong drank alcohol on several occasions at intervals of time.

When drunk driving was dropped from the charges against Kim Ho-joong, online comments poured in such as, "If you think you'll get caught for drunk driving in the future or get into an accident while driving drunk, run away and turn yourself in after 17 hours."

Reporter Im Jeong-hwan

'Kim Ho-joong Prevention Law' Appears "Fleeing after an accident and drinking more, severe punishment" :: Munhwa Ilbo munhwa