Park Jung-won, 4th Generation of the Doosan Family, Appears at First Appeal Trial to Plead for Leniency

On November 4, 2009, at the funeral hall of Seoul National University Hospital where the late Chairman Park Yong-oh's wake was held, Park Jung-won, the second son and then Vice President of Seongji Construction, was released on bail suspension and was seen choking up. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] Park Jung-won, former vice president of Seongji Construction and the 4th generation of the Doosan family, who was indicted on charges including fraud involving hundreds of millions of won and sentenced to three years in prison in the first trial, appeared at the first appeal trial held on the 4th and pleaded for leniency.

At the second trial held at the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Appeal Division 8-2 (Presiding Judge Lee Won-shin, Kim Woo-jung, Kim Ye-young), Park’s lawyer mentioned family matters such as the death of Park’s father, the late Park Yong-oh, former chairman of Doosan Group, and betrayal by his older brother, stating, "The defendant borrowed a large sum of money from acquaintances due to the mental shock caused by his unfortunate family circumstances."

Park said, "I have made many efforts to sincerely convey my apologies to the victims," and apologized, saying, "I am sorry for not being able to attend the trial."

Park, the second son of the late Park Yong-oh, former chairman of Doosan Group, was indicted three times between 2017 and 2018 on charges of borrowing a total of about 420 million won from four victims between 2011 and 2016 and failing to repay it.

During the borrowing process, he was investigated for deceiving the victims by claiming that he was engaged in mergers and acquisitions business and would pay high interest if they lent money, or that he would use his connections to help supply large marts.

While the sentencing was postponed due to Park’s absence from the court, an additional case involving fraud of about 70 million won and forgery of private documents was merged.

When victims who lent money under the pretext of company acquisition requested to see the acquisition contract, he was additionally indicted on charges of forgery of private documents for showing a forged contract.

He had consistently attended the first trial starting in March 2018 but disappeared after the sentencing date was set in October 2018 and was absent from all three sentencing dates.

Eventually, the court proceeded with the trial in absentia by public notice and sentenced him to three years in prison, to which Park filed an appeal.

Public notice refers to posting on the court bulletin board or official gazette when the whereabouts of a party to the trial are unknown.

Meanwhile, the prosecution requested the court to "dismiss the defendant’s appeal" on the day.

Park’s appeal sentencing is scheduled for the 4th of next month.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.