He rammed into a taxi while driving under the influence and fled the scene in Gangnam, southern Seoul in May.
Kim initially denied driving under the influence, but after CCTV footage and other evidence emerged, he was forced to admit it about 10 days later.
The Seoul Central District Court reprimanded Kim for his reckless driving and ruled that the prison term was unavoidable, as he attempted to have his manager take the blame by concealing his "irresponsible" behavior without showing any remorse.
His powerful vocals and dramatic personal story, from being a near high-school dropout to becoming a pop-opera singer, catapulted him to fame after his appearance on TV Chosun's popular audition show "Mr. Trot" in 2020.
Since then he has remained popular among fans for his renditions of Korea's old-style elegiac songs.
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