The trial of the elder brother and sister-in-law of broadcaster Park Soo-hong, accused of embezzling tens of billions of won from his grants, will resume.

Today (13th), the 7th Criminal Division (na) of the Seoul High Court will hold the 6th hearing of the appeal for Park Soo-hong's elder brother, Mr. Park, and his sister-in-law, Ms. Lee, who were indicted for violating the Specific Economic Crimes Heavy Punishment Act (embezzlement).

The couple, Park Soo-hong's elder brother and his sister-in-law, were indicted for embezzling a total of more than 6.2 billion won, which included Park Soo-hong's grants and company funds, from 2011 to 2021.

During the first trial, prosecutors sought a 7-year prison sentence for the elder brother and a 3-year prison sentence for the sister-in-law, but the court recognized only some of the charges against Park Soo-hong's elder brother as guilty, and both sides appealed.

Park Soo-hong has repeatedly expressed deep feelings of betrayal and pain toward the couple during the trial. He stated, "Being ignorant was a mistake, but when I opened the lid, it was so terrible that I wanted to die," and noted, "I had to cancel my insurance because I didn't have money to pay the jeonse deposit, and I only had 33.8 million won left in my bank account."

He also lamented, "I was appalled that the first trial acquitted them of personal embezzlement, and it was so unfair," adding, "My elder brother received a higher salary than I did at the company where I brought in 100% of the revenue, and all the real estate was under the names of the elder brother and sister-in-law. I had no assets in my name throughout the entire partnership period."

Ms. Lee, the sister-in-law, was also referred to a separate trial for defamation against Park Soo-hong and his wife, and she was sentenced to a fine of 12 million won in December of last year.

Meanwhile, this hearing was postponed from last March. The schedule was adjusted due to a request to extend the deadline for submitting the expert opinions. On this day, both sides are expected to clash again in court.

[Photo] OSEN DB

[OSEN]