Five years to conviction..Park Soo-hong's brother was sentenced to prison for embezzlement of 2 billion won [synthesis]

*This content was translated by AI.

• Two years in prison in the first trial → 3 years and 6 months in the second trial.."Trust without recovering from the damage."

The embezzlement case of broadcaster Park Soo-hong's brother and his wife was concluded with a final ruling that they were guilty. It took a whopping five years.

On the 26th, the Supreme Court's First Division (F) held a verdict on the charges of violating the law on the aggravated punishment of certain economic crimes by Park Soo-hong's brother, Park, and his brother-in-law, Lee, and said, "We dismiss the defendant's appeal." As a result, the sentence of the second trial was maintained, and Park's three-and-a-half years in prison and Lee's guilty and suspended sentence were also confirmed.

The start of the lawsuit stemmed from one revealing comment made public on March 29, 2021. Video comments on the YouTube channel "Black Cat Da Hong," which reveals Park's daily life with his cat Da Hong, revealed that Park's brother embezzled more than 10 billion won in appearance fees and down payments for decades, and Park Soo-hong himself said, "I sincerely apologize for causing concern to many people with a story that has been circulating online recently about me and my family. This was gradually revealed to the surface, saying, "I tried to end the situation as quietly as possible because it was a family problem before the problem with the former agency, but I am leaving a difficult message for those who are worried and supporting me because this situation inevitably happens."

At the time, Park Soo-hong said, "It is true that I suffered financial damage in my relationship with my former agency," adding, "It is also true that the agency has been operated under the name of my brother and sister-in-law." One day after 30 years, I found out that many of my efforts were not mine. I was shocked by this and tried to talk to correct it, but I haven't received an answer for a long time so far," he said. "Currently, we have secured objective data on what has happened and requested a conversation once again," he said, adding, "It's my last request, so if I don't comply, I don't think I can see them as family anymore." Park Soo-hong also said, "My parents had no idea that there had been such a dispute until recently," adding, "The most painful part for me is that I caused great concern to my parents. I sincerely ask you to stop the indiscriminate criticism and speculation against your parents," he said.

In the end, Park Soo-hong sued his brother and his wife in April 2021 for embezzling corporate funds and using their performance fees for personal living expenses without permission, and claimed, "The amount of embezzlement amounts to 11.6 billion won." In response, the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office, which launched an investigation, arrested them and immediately requested an arrest warrant. At that time, the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office called Park Soo-hong, Park Soo-hong's brother and his wife, and the father of two brothers to conduct a cross-examination. In the process, Park Soo-hong's father, who attended the cross-examination, verbally abused and assaulted Park Soo-hong, saying, "Do you not even say hello?" and shocked Park Soo-hong by fainting in shock and being taken to the emergency room, and Park Soo-hong received emergency treatment and joined the cross-examination by wire at home. Regarding the reason for the cross-examination, the prosecution explained, "This is because the complainant requested a complementary investigation into the suspect and the complainant's father."

Regarding the prosecution of Park and his wife, the prosecution judged that they arbitrarily spent a total of 6.17 billion won, including △ 1.9 billion won in false accounting for labor costs △ 1.17 billion won in funds from agencies for real estate purchases △ 90 million won in unauthorized use of funds from agencies △ 90 million won in use of credit cards from agencies △ 2.9 billion won in unauthorized withdrawal from Park Soo-hong's account. The prosecution initially considered the amount of embezzlement to be about 2.1 billion won at the time of the request for an arrest warrant, but determined that there was 4.1 billion won more through additional investigation. The prosecution, however, considered it difficult to form a crime on its own because policyholders, veterinarians, and insurance payment entities were the same for each insurance contract, and judged that Park was the sole offender for the 2.9 billion won in personal damage related to allegations that Park was trying to avoid punishment by using kinship rituals.

In the first trial, the prosecution demanded seven years and three years in prison, respectively, and the court found Park guilty of embezzling 2 billion won in company money, but sentenced him to two years in prison for stealing Park Soo-hong's money worth 1.6 billion won. However, Lee was acquitted, saying it was difficult to prove an accomplice.

In the second trial, which was conducted after both sides appealed, the two pleaded guilty in the first trial, saying they admitted their wrongdoing for Park's embezzlement of money by using Park's corporate card under the name of Park Soo-hong's management company for personal use, listing false employees in the company, and embezzling company funds for the purpose of spending personal lawyer appointment with the company's funds and purchasing other personal items.

Park Soo-hong attended both the first trial and the appeal trial as a witness and said, "I felt sorry to see that they were using my assets freely because it was a family company. Even if they calculated that they collected the salary and dividends they received over the past four years without spending a won in real estate worth 4.3 billion won acquired by their brother and wife between 2014 and 2017, they are 2 billion won short," he said, adding, "I was told by my brother and wife that it is 'financial technology for you'. There was no real estate in my name until the partnership was terminated. "Everyone only has real estate that they share 50% of," he said. "It is absolutely not possible for other people to (take care of) profits as collateral for one person's sacrifice, even if it is a family. This should not happen again," he stressed.

In the second trial, the prosecution demanded seven years in prison for Park and three years for Lee, and falsely claimed that Park used a large amount of money for Park Soo-hong despite repeatedly embezzling it for a long time. Despite the fact that celebrity Park Soo-hong's image may be damaged, the defendant is avoiding responsibility. "I considered that it was a first-time offender, but considering the duration, amount, and attitude of the crime, severe punishment is inevitable," he said.

On the other hand, Park and Lee's lawyers appealed for leniency, claiming that "Park's allegations of embezzlement in business cannot be denied, but please consider the fact that most of the money was delivered to the complainant (Park Soo-hong), and that the plaintiff's repayment is delayed due to seizure." In his final statement, Park said, "I am living with a feeling of reflection on what happened because of my negligence. This incident is causing the family to have a hard time dealing with it. I will never repeat the same path again," he said.

In the end, the second trial arrested Park on December 19, 2025, with a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence, saying, "There is a fear of running away," and ordered Lee to be partially convicted, sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for two years, and 120 hours of community service.

After pointing out the acquittal in the first trial, the second trial court said it would reverse the acquittal in the first trial, pointing to Lee's use of corporate cards, and said, "I participated in the breach of duty." The use of corporate cards is the cost of purchasing gift certificates at department stores, marts, and shopping centers, exercise center tickets, educational services such as Taekwondo academies, math academies and workbooks for teenagers, amusement park tickets, and kids cafe tickets, all of which cannot be recognized at all. The amount is about 96 million won, he explained.

In addition, the court said, "As a family company, the case abused the characteristics of victims with weak internal surveillance systems and the trust of Park Soo-hong, a brotherhood relationship, and beyond violating the property interests of victims who are direct victims of embezzlement, it disrupted the tax order that should be maintained in parallel and sound manner, and further resulted in significant property and mental damage to Park Soo-hong, a real victim."

"In light of the poor quality of the crime and the seriousness of the consequences of the crime, severe punishment equivalent to guilt is inevitable," he said. "As a result of tracking the funds and the flow of funds, the defendant's outflow from the victims of the crime seems to have been used to acquire personal assets such as real estate under the name of the Park couple, and as a family member of a famous celebrity, he used the income of the complainant, which was formed based on the interest, love and trust received from the public, not only to completely betray Park Soo-hong's trust but also to cause a pessimistic controversy such as moral hazard in our society."

In particular, the court said, "We cannot accept the reimbursement of some of the damages of the Park couple. Even if they paid off, the source of funds from the original affected companies is Park Soo-hong's income, so the actual victim of embezzlement and breach of trust is Park Soo-hong." He also said, "Park did not recover any damage to Park Soo-hong, the actual victim of the case, until the second trial, and he did not appear to have made any effort to do so, and Park Soo-hong is repeatedly pleading for severe punishment against Park in the second trial following the original trial."

Finally, the court added, "All crimes related to Park's arrest today include violations of the law on aggravated punishment of certain crimes that he found guilty, namely embezzlement and professional malpractice."

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*This content was translated by AI.