Late Park Won-soon's Son to Undergo New Military Service Physical Examination Amid 'Service Controversy'

Mr. Park Summoned as Witness in Appeal Trial
Proceeding with Same Prosecutor as in 2011 Expected

Park Ju-shin (38), son of the late former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, who raised allegations of military service corruption and was convicted in the first trial, was summoned as a witness in the appeal trial of those convicted. He will also undergo a physical examination again.

Park Jushin (38), son of the late former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, was summoned as a witness in the appellate trial of those who were convicted in the first trial after raising allegations of his own military service corruption. He will also undergo a physical examination again.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The Criminal Division 6-3 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judges Lee Eui-young, Won Jong-chan, Park Won-cheol) made this decision on the 12th during the appeal trial for seven people including Yang Seung-oh, charged with violating the Public Official Election Act. Park is scheduled to be questioned as a witness on the 11th of next month.

Initially, it was known that Park was staying in the UK, but it has been confirmed that he has returned to Korea. He reportedly conveyed to the prosecution that he is considering attending the trial.

Park was also summoned as a witness in October 2020 but failed to appear without a valid reason, resulting in a fine of 5 million KRW. During the trial on this day, the court also discussed the physical examination procedure for Park requested by the defendants.

The examination will be conducted by the same medical professionals who assessed Park in 2011 when he submitted documents to the Military Manpower Administration and received a Grade 4 classification. The court decided to hold the examination date and conduct MRI and X-ray imaging of the spine, thorax, pelvis, and teeth at a hospital, as requested by the defense.

The defendants mentioned the possibility of 'body substitution' and argued that they should be allowed to accompany Park during the examination. There was a brief commotion as they demanded to attach a 'marker' directly to Park's body to prevent proxy examinations.

They stated, "We witnessed manipulation on-site under the name of public verification and were subjected to tremendous deception." The court rejected these claims but allowed a third party to attach an identification marker for verification purposes. The examination date will be decided after selecting the hospital.

Previously, Yang and others were indicted for raising allegations of Park Ju-shin's military service corruption to defeat former Mayor Park Won-soon ahead of the June 2014 local elections, violating the Public Official Election Act. Park Ju-shin was classified as Grade 4 in August 2011 due to a herniated disc and served as a social service agent.

When suspicions arose about this process, Park publicly underwent an MRI scan in February 2012. However, Yang and others claimed that Park had a 'proxy examination' and were prosecuted. The first trial ruled that it was clear Park underwent the examination himself and sentenced Yang and others to fines ranging from 7 million to 15 million KRW.

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