Kim Ho-joong breaks silence a month after parole in drunk-driving hit-and-run case

Singer Kim Ho-joong, 35, who was paroled after serving time for a drunk-driving hit-and-run, shared an update with fans Monday — about a month after his release from prison on June 30.

On Monday, Kim posted a message titled "Dear Aris" on his official fan cafe. Aris is the name of his fandom.

"I miss you all so much. I don't know how many days I waited just to say those words," he wrote. "In the month since my parole, it felt as though my life was picking up right where it left off two years ago."

He added that he had been revisiting the things he used to do one by one, and carefully dusting off memories that had settled over time.

"I thought a lot about how difficult and lonely it must have been for you while I was gone," Kim wrote. "When I think about how you stood by me, believed in me and cheered me on through such a long wait, I feel both grateful and sorry."

He also said he was facing ankle surgery, and pledged to recover fully — physically and mentally — before returning in better shape. His agency had previously said both of his ankles had been in poor condition even before the incident, making surgery unavoidable, and that he would focus on treatment for now.

Kim said he would resume activities with the agency he was with at the time of the incident.

"I have decided to continue working with the staff members who had to go through hardships because of my wrongdoing," he wrote. "Since they endured difficult times because of me, staying with them to the end is an important responsibility I must fulfill."

In May 2024, Kim drove drunk on Apgujeong-ro in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, crossed the center line, collided with an oncoming taxi and fled the scene. Shortly after the accident, his manager, identified only by the surname Jang, turned himself in on Kim's behalf, and it was later revealed that the memory card from the vehicle's black box had been removed.

Kim was indicted in custody on charges including aggravated hit-and-run causing injury under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes. In November 2024, he received a two-year-and-six-month prison sentence at trial. An appeals court upheld the sentence, and Kim dropped his further appeal.

The head of his agency, identified only by the surname Lee, was also indicted on charges of ordering the cover-up and sentenced to two years in prison. A former division head, identified only by the surname Jeon, received one year and six months, while manager Jang received a one-year sentence suspended for two years.

Kim's full sentence would have ended Nov. 24, but the Ministry of Justice's parole board approved his early release, moving it up by about five months. He left Somang Prison in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, and will remain under probation supervision for the remainder of his original sentence.