Updated at 3:24 p.m., Friday, November 23, 2007
'Lost' star Daniel Dae Kim pleads not guilty to DUI
Advertiser Staff
Through his attorney, "Lost" television series co-star Daniel Dae Kim has entered a not-guilty plea to a charge of driving while highly intoxicated.Kim, 39, did not appear at this afternoon's hearing before District Judge Alvin Nishimura.
Kim was arrested at 2:30 a.m. Oct. 25 on South King Street. Police said his blood alcohol content was .168 — more than twice the legal limit of .08.
Traffic court records show Kim's license was administratively revoked Nov. 19 — a legal requirement in drunken driving cases — but the records do not specify the length of the revocation.
Kim's lawyer, Patrick McPherson, declined to discuss the revocation. The normal revocation period for a first-time DUI charge, such as Kim's, is six months.
An administrative license revocation, if upheld, becomes part of a driver's abstract for insurance purposes, but a conviction of the DUI charge would give Kim a criminal record.
The trial date in Kim's DUI case will be set later.
If convicted, he would face an automatic six-month license suspension, a mandatory 14-hour substance abuse rehabilitation program and a fine of $150-$1,000.
Kim issued a statement Oct. 27 saying he was "deeply ashamed and embarrassed" by the arrest.
"It saddens me to know that I jeopardized the welfare of the kind people of Hawai'i, a community that that I love and call my home," Kim said in the statement, released by his California publicist.
According to traffic court records, Kim was cited here for speeding last year and for driving without a valid vehicle safety check in January.
