Shinhwa member Shin Hye-sung (45, Jung Pil-gyo), who was sentenced to probation in the first trial for drunk driving, has been sentenced to probation on appeal.
The 3rd Criminal Division (Appeals) of the Seoul Eastern District Court held a sentencing hearing on the appeal of Shin Hye-sung, who was charged with violating the Road Traffic Act (refusing to take a breathalyzer test) on the morning of the 12th. Shin Hye-sung was sentenced to probation in the first trial on April 20 last year, and the prosecution filed an appeal.
Shin Hye-sung entered the courtroom with her face covered with a mask. Throughout the trial, she appeared to be unable to keep her head up.
The judge said, "The prosecution filed the appeal, saying that the original sentence was too light for the defendant. I don't think the original sentence for the defendant is too light," and dismissed the prosecutor's appeal.
As a result, Shin was sentenced to six months in prison and one year of probation, the same as in the first trial.
After the trial ended, Shin remained silent when asked by reporters, "Do you have anything to say?" and boarded her vehicle for home, wearing a black hat and keeping her head down.
In the last trial, the prosecution asked for two years in prison, saying, "The defendant drove drunk again even though he had a previous drunk driving punishment," and "The defendant has a poor criminal record, such as driving a vehicle even though he was so drunk that he could not control himself and refusing to take a breathalyzer test."
However, Shin's defense attorney asked the court to dismiss the prosecution's appeal, arguing that a jail sentence was too harsh a punishment.
At the time of the incident, police responded to a report of "a vehicle stopped in the middle of the road" and asked Shin to take a breathalyzer test, which she reportedly refused. In addition, the car she was riding in at the time turned out to be someone else's car that had been reported stolen. In response, police investigated whether she was guilty of theft, but her intent to steal the car was not proven, so she was charged with illegal use of a motor vehicle.
In her closing statement in the first trial, Shin Hye-sung said, "I apologize for disappointing many people despite my exemplary behavior. I will reflect so that this will not happen again," she sobbed. Shin Hye-sung's defense attorney said, "She is reflecting on her wrongdoings," and added, "During her 25 years as a member of Shinhwa, she suffered from panic disorder, depression, and public avoidance, and after 2021, her symptoms became severe and she stopped broadcasting and went on hiatus. Of course, I didn't drink at all during this period," he said in his plea for leniency.
In the first trial, the court sentenced Shin Hye-sung to six months in prison and one year of probation.
The court said, "The defendant has admitted all the facts of the case and the evidence submitted proves his guilt. The refusal to take a breathalyzer test is a refusal to measure blood alcohol content, which is the key to handling a drunk driving case and is not a light offense in itself. There is reason to believe that the defendant was driving under the influence at the time, and the offense is not lesser than the offense of driving under the influence itself."
However, the court said, "The fact that the defendant admitted to the investigation agency and showed an attitude of remorse, that no human or material damage was caused, that the owner of the vehicle did not want to be punished, that the previous drunk driving offense was in 2007, and that no criminal penalties were exceeding a fine were favorable factors."
Shin Hye-sung had previously been charged with drunk driving in April 2007. At the time, his blood alcohol content was found to be 0.097%, which is a license suspension level.
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