Elder Brother and Sister-in-law in 'Multi-billion Won Embezzlement of Park Soohong's Appearance Fees' Case to Receive Supreme Court Ruling

Sentencing date on embezzlement charges set for the 26th

The Supreme Court is set to hand down a final ruling on the elder brother of broadcaster Park Soohong (54), who is accused of embezzling approximately 4.8 billion won, including Park’s appearance fees.

Broadcaster Park Suhong appeared as a witness at the continuation hearing at the Seoul Western District Court for his elder brother, who was arrested and indicted on embezzlement charges, and made a statement. Yonhap News

According to the legal community on the 14th, the First Division (Panel B) of the Supreme Court has designated February 26 as the date to deliver its verdict on Park’s elder brother, identified only by his surname Park (57), and his sister-in-law, identified only by her surname Lee (54), who have been charged with embezzlement in violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.

The couple is accused of operating two entertainment agencies, Rael and Media Boom, between 2011 and 2021 and embezzling Park Soohong’s appearance fees and other income by fabricating false labor costs and privately using corporate credit cards. They were indicted in October 2022. The amount of embezzlement initially stated in the indictment was 6.17 billion won, but during the first-instance trial the prosecution revised the indictment, concluding that about 4.8 billion won had been embezzled after excluding overlapping items.

In the first trial, held in February last year, the court recognized only the charge of embezzling 2.1 billion won in company funds through corporate credit cards and sentenced Park to two years in prison. It found his spouse, Lee, not guilty, ruling that there was no evidence she had directly participated in the embezzlement.

However, in December last year, the appellate court imposed a heavier sentence of three years and six months in prison on Park and took him into custody in the courtroom. While the first-instance court had considered the fact that the company was a family-owned business as a special mitigating factor, the appellate court rejected this. In addition, for Lee, who had been acquitted at first instance, the appellate court sentenced her to one year and six months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered her to perform 120 hours of community service. The appellate court found both Lee and Park guilty of breach of trust in the course of work, holding that they colluded to privately use more than 26 million won via the corporate credit card.

The appellate court stated, “Lee was registered as the representative director and an internal director of the victimized company, received a salary, and repeatedly used the corporate credit card at department stores, supermarkets, taekwondo and math academies, amusement parks, and kids’ cafes, which are places that cannot be recognized as having any relation to work,” and concluded, “It is reasonable to view that she participated in Park’s breach of trust in the course of his work.”

During the trial, Park pleaded, “There may have been some tax-related mistakes, but I ended up standing in court after supporting Soohong from behind,” adding, “I have thought of Soohong as my own child and raised him that way all this time.”

However, Park Soohong’s side argued, “Because of the defendants’ criminal acts, the 30 years of his youth, built up with blood and sweat, have been denied, and his ties with his parents and siblings have been severed. He was only able to enjoy the ordinary happiness of marrying the person he loves and having a child after turning 50,” and requested, “Unless the defendants fully acknowledge their wrongdoing and sincerely apologize to Park Soohong, we ask that they be severely punished.”

The appellate court explained the reason for increasing the sentence, stating, “Because of Park’s crimes, the actual damage to the victimized company is ongoing, and Park Soohong is petitioning for a heavy sentence,” and adding, “The method of the crime falls into a category of being extremely poor in nature, and we reflect this as a special aggravating factor.”

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