Kim Ho-joong (Korean: 김호중; born October 2, 1991) is a South Korean classical crossover singer. He came to prominence after a fourth-place finish in TV Chosun show Mr. Trot.[1] During his military service, he served as a public service worker and was discharged on June 9, 2022.[2]
Philanthropy
On March 22, 2022, Kim donated 500 pieces of Geumsan Aesthetic Red Ginseng products (worth 67.5 million won) to Sky Garden under the Welfare Foundation of Love, a social welfare company.[3]
On February 23, 2023, Kim donated 50 million won to help in the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake through UNICEF Korea Committee.[4]
Controversies
2020: Illegal gambling
On August 20, 2020, Kim admitted to allegations of participating in illegal sports betting. He made several bets of amounts ranging from 30,000 to 50,000 won using a former manager's acquaintance's account on illegal websites.[5] Upon police investigation, he was granted a suspended prosecution.[6][7]
2021: Battery allegations
On July 20, 2021, Seoul Gangnam Police Station announced their plans for investigations into Kim and officials from a construction company after the individuals were involved in a fight outside Kim's house the night before.[8] Following both parties' submissions of applications for non-punishment, the police closed the investigation on August 10 with neither party being prosecuted.[9]
2024: DUI hit-and-run
On May 9, 2024, Kim crashed his vehicle into a stationary taxi in Gangnam. In a phone call, Kim immediately informed his manager of the accident, admitting to the manager that he had been under the influence. Kim then requested his manager turn himself in for the crime in his stead.[10] The manager, dressed as Kim, took responsibility for the crash for the first 17 hours after it, while Kim hid at a hotel in Gyeonggi with another manager.[11] On May 17, police announced investigations into Kim for charges of hit-and-run and suspected driving under the influence after a May 16 raid on his and the head of his entertainment agency, Lee Kwang-deuk's, homes and offices.[12][13] On May 22, police charged Kim with death and injury due to dangerous driving and requested arrest warrants for Kim, Lee, as well as an agency director, Jeon, who claimed to have swallowed Kim's car's black box memory card.[14] The warrants for Kim, Lee, and Jeon were approved on May 24 by Seoul Central District Court due to risks of evidence tampering, and the trio were detained at Gangnam Police Station for further investigation. [15][16]
^Son Jin-ah (March 22, 2022). "김호중, 선한 영향력 ing…취약계층에 홍삼 500개 기부" [Ho-jung Kim, good influence ing... Donate 500 red ginseng to the underprivileged] (in Korean). MK Sports. Retrieved March 22, 2022 – via Naver.
^Kang, Min-kyung (February 23, 2023). "김호중, 튀르키예 지진 구호금 5000만원 기부 "받은 사랑 뜻깊게" [Kim Ho-joong, donated 50 million won to Turkey earthquake relief "Received love meaningfully] (in Korean). Ten Asia. Retrieved February 26, 2023 – via Naver.
^Lee, Taeyeon (July 8, 2022). 김호중, 정규 2집 'PANORAMA' 제작 비하인드 공개…NOMA 누구? [Kim Ho-joong reveals behind-the-scenes production of his 2nd regular album 'PANORAMA'... NOMA who?]. Chosun (in Korean). Retrieved August 3, 2022.
^Yang So-young (July 15, 2022). "당나귀 귀' 김호중 보스 합류…"성악가 모습 보여드리고파" [Donkey Ears' Kim Ho-jung joins the boss... "I want to show you what a singer looks like"] (in Korean). Maeil Business Star Today. Retrieved July 15, 2022 – via Naver.
^Kim Min-ji (July 29, 2022). "SBS, 추석 특집 김호중 단독쇼 '한가위 판타지아' 편성" [SBS organizes Chuseok special Kim Ho-jung's solo show 'Hangawi Fantasia] (in Korean). Sports Seoul. Retrieved July 29, 2022 – via Naver.
^Lee Yu-min (October 17, 2022). "송가인X김호중 '복덩이들고' 태국 촬영[공식]" [Song Ga-in X Kim Ho-jung's 'Hands Up' Filming in Thailand [Official]] (in Korean). Sports Kyunghyang. Retrieved October 17, 2022 – via Naver.
^Chae Tae-young (September 7, 2022). "김호중, 아시아 최초 '파바로티 재단' 앰버서더 발탁" [Ho-jung Kim, Asia's first 'Pavarotti Foundation' ambassador selected] (in Korean). Money Today. Retrieved September 7, 2022 – via Naver.
^Kim, No-eul (December 8, 2021). "BTS·임영웅·김호중·아이유…제36회 골든디스크 어워즈 후보 공개" [BTS, Lim Young-woong, Kim Ho-joong, IU...Candidates for the 36th Golden Disc Awards.]. X Sports News. Archived from the original on December 8, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
^Lee, Jae-hoon (October 8, 2022). "방탄소년단, '더팩트 뮤직 어워즈' 5번 연속 주인공" [BTS, 'The Fact Music Awards' 5 times in a row]. Newsis (in Korean). Retrieved October 8, 2022.
^"2022 GMA, 부문별 후보 공개…김호중·임영웅→세븐틴·NCT드림·아이브 등 대상후보" [2022 GMA reveals nominations by category... Kim Ho-jung, Lim Young-woong → Seventeen, NCT Dream, IVE, etc. grand prize candidates]. ETNEWS (in Korean). October 7, 2022. Archived from the original on October 8, 2022. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
^Park, Ji-hyun; Kim, Min-soo; Shin, Yoon-ae (April 23, 2021). 2021 포브스코리아 선정 파워 셀럽 40 [2021 Power Celebrity Selected by Forbes Korea 40]. JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved May 21, 2021 – via Joins.