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Kwak Han-goo |
By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
Comedian Kwak Han-goo was caught stealing a car for the second time in eight months, police said Saturday.
The 28-year-old faces imprisonment since he committed the crime while his jail term for the previous case is being suspended, police said.
According to the Ansan Police Agency, Kwak stole a car on display at a used-car dealership in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province.
Police said he snuck into the shop in Ansan at around 5 a.m. Friday and drove out a Hummer H3 valued at $23,000.
The shop's owner used CCTV footage to pick Kwak out as the primary suspect and the suspect was nabbed at a police checkpoint in the city at 9:40 p.m. the same day, police said.
"He confessed to stealing the car," said a police officer. "I just wanted to sit behind the wheel of the car," the officer quoted Kwak as saying.
The officer said an arrest warrant is being sought, adding: "The comedian will face tougher punishment than those involved in similar cases since the crime took place during the suspended jail term."
A court will soon question Kwak to decide whether to issue the warrant.
Last June, Kwak was caught stealing a Mercedes-Benz parked at a repair shop in Ansan. He confessed to the crime and apologized to the public. Given the apology, a court handed down a four-month jail term suspended for 10 months.
Those committing any crime during a suspended jail term are, in principle, supposed to be arrested.
Following the first crime, he was ousted from popular comedy program "Gag Concert'' and has since disappeared from the small screen.
Meanwhile, veteran actor Na Han-il was recently found guilty of embezzling money from his own company and imprisoned after an appellate court ruling.
Last Friday, the Seoul High Court handed down a two-year, six-month prison term to the 55-year-old, overturning a lower court's suspended jail term.
"He used corporate funds for private purposes," presiding judge Lee Kang-won said. "The amount of money he embezzled is staggering."
pss@koreatimes.co.kr
개그맨 곽한구 또 외제차 절도
개그맨 곽한구(28)가 또 다시 외제차를 훔쳐 타고 달아났다 경찰에 붙잡혔다.
경기도 안산 단원경찰서에 따르면 곽한구는 전날 오전 5시께 안산의 한 중고차 매매센터에 전시돼 있던 미국산 지프차량인 허머 H3를 운전하고 달아났다가 이날 오후 9시40분께 인근에서 수색중이던 경찰에 긴급체포됐다.
곽한구는 당시 중고차 매매센터 출입 경비가 허술한 틈을 타 차 안에 차 열쇠가 꽂혀 있던 해당 차량을 타고 달아난 것으로 조사됐다.
경찰은 이날 오후 5시 신고를 받고 매매센터 CCTV에 찍힌 인상착의를 근거로 곽한구를 용의자로 보고 수색을 벌였고 안산 인근에서 검거했다.
곽한구는 지난해 6월에도 안산에 있는 한 카센터에서 고가의 벤츠 승용차를 훔쳐 타고 달아난 혐의로 징역 4월에 집행유예 10월을 선고받은 바 있다.
당시 곽한구는 KBS 2TV '개그콘서트'의 코너인 '독한것들'에 출연해 인기를 얻고 있었지만 사건 후 프로그램에서 하차하고 연예 활동을 중단했다.
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무디스, 스페인·伊·포르투갈 신용등급 강등
