Broadcaster Park Soo-hong has shed tears of blood over his older brother and sister-in-law's allegations of embezzlement amounting to tens of billions of won, while the court has focused on the 'asset gap' between Park Soo-hong and his older brother. As Park Soo-hong confessed, he had no money even to pay a lease deposit, yet it has been revealed that his brother and sister-in-law acquired multiple properties, causing shock.
On the 13th, the 7th Criminal Division (Division 2) of the Seoul High Court held the sixth hearing of the appeals trial for Park Soo-hong's older brother, a person surnamed Park, and his sister-in-law, a person surnamed Lee, who have been indicted on charges of violating the Specific Economic Crimes Aggravated Punishment Act (embezzlement). They are suspected of embezzling a total of 6.2 billion won while Park Soo-hong earned the majority of his appearance fees.
The first trial court acknowledged that Park's older brother embezzled about 2 billion won of company funds, but judged him not guilty regarding the 1.6 billion won withdrawn from Park Soo-hong's personal account. The sister-in-law was acquitted due to insufficient evidence of conspiracy. As a result, both Park Soo-hong's side and the prosecution have appealed.
In today's trial, the court noted the abnormal pattern of the asset gap between the brothers. The court pointed out, "Other than a 50% stake in the Magok commercial building, Park Soo-hong has no noticeable assets. In contrast, the Park couple has acquired four properties and repaid their existing mortgage debt. There are also indications that their financial assets, including insurance subscriptions, have increased."
Earlier in the trial, Park Soo-hong said, "My brother managed even my personal account. All revenues were my earnings, yet my brother received a higher salary than me, and all assets were under the names of him and his wife," adding, "I had only 33.8 million won left in my account and no lease deposit, so I had to cancel my insurance," he expressed his frustration. He lamented, "It was an utterly unbelievable situation. When I opened the lid, it was so terrible that I wanted to die."
The court stated, "Given that most of the entertainment activity revenue comes from Park Soo-hong, an explanation is needed as to why the asset formation results differ so significantly," demanding the Park couple provide clear accounts regarding their asset formation process compared to Park Soo-hong's assets, as well as the purpose of using personal accounts. Meanwhile, the sister-in-law, a person surnamed Lee, has been separately prosecuted for defaming Park Soo-hong and was sentenced to a fine of 12 million won last year. The trial is expected to go through further hearings before a verdict is announced.
[Photo] OSEN DB
[OSEN]