“Severing Ties with Family”: Park Soo-hong Loses Lawsuit Against Elder Brother and Sister-in-Law Over “Embezzlement”; His Statement, “Anyone Can See We Were Unhappy,” Revisited [Star Issue]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Broadcaster Park Soo-hong, who has severed ties with his family amid legal disputes with his elder brother and sister-in-law, lost a lawsuit seeking 9.8 billion won in damages.

The 12th Civil Division of the Seoul Western District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Jin-young) ruled on the 13th that Park’s claim against his elder brother, Mr. Park, be dismissed and the suit against his sister-in-law, Ms. Lee, be rejected in the first-instance trial of the damages lawsuit filed by Park Soo-hong against his elder brother and sister-in-law. The court also ordered the plaintiff, Park Soo-hong’s side, to bear the litigation costs.

This lawsuit stemmed from a long-standing conflict between Park Soo-hong and his elder brother and sister-in-law. Park’s side had argued that his elder brother and sister-in-law failed to properly settle and embezzled earnings from entertainment activities over a long period. In 2021, they filed criminal complaints against the couple along with a civil lawsuit for damages.

In the process, Park Soo-hong also distanced himself from his family. It is reported that after the conflict with his elder brother and sister-in-law surfaced, his parents sided with his elder brother’s side, and Park Soo-hong continued the legal battle while severed from his parents as well.

However, in this civil lawsuit, the court did not accept Park Soo-hong’s side’s main arguments.

One of the points of contention was whether a separate profit-sharing agreement existed between the brothers. Park’s side argued that even before the agreement in July 2020 to divide the corporation’s net assets at a ratio of 7 to 3, there had been a personal agreement to distribute entertainment activity earnings at the same ratio. Based on this, they demanded payment of 70% of the corporation’s net assets and 70% of the management agency’s shares.

However, the court stated, “No matter how much we review the records, it is difficult to see that there was an agreement as claimed by the plaintiff between the plaintiff and Defendant 1 (Mr. Park),” and ruled that “rather than a direct contractual relationship existing between the plaintiff and Defendant 1 before the July 2020 agreement was established, it appears only that the corporation managed the plaintiff’s entertainment activities and that earnings were to be received through the corporation.”

The court also did not accept the claim for damages based on embezzlement of personal funds raised by Park Soo-hong’s side. The court considered that the relevant criminal case had confirmed a verdict of acquittal for the charges in question, circumstances indicating that Park Soo-hong’s father kept an account in Park’s name and withdrew some of the money, and the possibility that part of the amount claimed as embezzled was used by Park Soo-hong. Based on this, the court found that the fact of embezzlement of personal funds had not been sufficiently proven.

Nevertheless, the court pointed out that it is “deserving of condemnation” that the elder brother and sister-in-law embezzled company funds and caused damage to the company through acts of breach of trust in their duties. Even so, the court determined that it was difficult to hold the defendants personally liable for damages when considering the earnings attributable to the company and legal relationships, among other factors.

In 2021, Park Soo-hong filed a lawsuit seeking 11.6 billion won in damages against his elder brother and sister-in-law. He later increased the claim amount to 19.8 billion won at one point, but the final claim amount was adjusted to approximately 9.8 billion won.

Separately from this civil lawsuit, some of the embezzlement charges against the elder brother and sister-in-law were confirmed as guilty in criminal trials.

Mr. Park, the elder brother, was prosecuted on charges including spending company funds on apartment management fees and attorney selection fees while handling Park Soo-hong’s management from 2011 to 2021, and using corporate cards for personal purposes. The Supreme Court confirmed the lower court’s sentence of three years and six months in prison for Mr. Park and one year in prison with a two-year suspended sentence for his sister-in-law, Ms. Lee, on February 26.

On the other hand, the charges that he diverted and used Park Soo-hong’s personal funds were confirmed as acquittal. The criminal court determined that the facts of the crime regarding these charges had not been sufficiently proven.

Although Park Soo-hong went through a difficult time due to conflicts with his family, he is maintaining his daily life with his wife Kim Da-ye, daughter Jae-i, and pet cat Dahong-i. In June, he also shared his feelings about the conflict with his family and the lawsuit process through his YouTube channel.

At the time, Kim Da-ye said, “We went through a lot of hardship, and it looked unhappy to anyone who saw us. There was a period when we truly couldn’t see the future and it was pitch dark, but we made an effort to become happy.”

She added, “Not everything will necessarily work out well. Difficult things are always present. When difficult things happen, I think positively by saying, ‘Isn’t this better than before?’”

Park Soo-hong expressed gratitude, saying, “Even now, the (wounds) haven’t completely healed, but Da-ye, Dahong-i, and Jae-i who are by my side have comforted me a lot and loved me, so I’ve gotten much better. I am truly grateful.”

He added, “If there are people going through difficulties, if you endure while looking at us, good things will come.”

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original