Singer Kim Ho-joong has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for crashing into a taxi with his car and fleeing the scene.

The Seoul Central District Court issued the ruling on Wednesday, saying Kim drove under the influence of alcohol and caused injuries and material damage, yet irresponsibly fled the scene and had his assistant take the blame. 

Kim crashed into a stationary taxi in the opposite lane in Seoul’s southern district of Gangnam on the night of May 9 while driving drunk.

Although he initially denied drinking and driving, he admitted it ten days later.

The prosecution indicted Kim for reckless driving resulting in injuries, flight resulting in injuries and taking no post-accident measures, but did not add a drunk driving charge because his blood alcohol level was not tested right after the accident.

The prosecution had sought a three-and-a-half-year prison term in September.