Embattled popera star Kim Ho-joong was to attend a court hearing Friday to determine whether to issue an arrest warrant for him on charges of ramming into a taxi while driving under the influence and fleeing the scene.
The hearing at the Seoul Central District Court comes two days after prosecutors applied for an arrest warrant for him on charges of crashing into a stationary taxi in the opposite lane in Seoul’s southern district of Gangnam late at night on May 9 while driving drunk. He then allegedly left the scene without taking post-accident measures.
Arrest warrants have also been sought for Lee Kwang-deuk, the head of Kim’s management agency, and another agency official on charges of instigating Kim’s flight from the accident site or destroying evidence.
The 33-year-old singer rose to stardom after appearing on the audition show “Mr. Trot.”
The previous day, Kim’s side filed a request with the court to postpone the scheduled hearing, apparently intending to proceed with his two-day concert from Thur
sday to Friday in Seoul, but the court rejected the request.
Dumir, the organizer of the show, said Kim would not be on stage Friday.
Kim is expected to be held in custody until the court’s final decision, which typically takes several hours, making it impossible for Kim to perform.
The popular singer came under public fury after it was reported that his manager initially lied to the police that he was behind the wheel at the time of the accident and that Kim appeared before the police 17 hours after the accident, apparently to evade a blood alcohol test.
Source: Yonhap News Agency