Comedian Park Narae, instead of remaining silent amid a flood of allegations and controversy, mentioned "legal procedures" and said there would be no further statements. She broke her silence and appeared before the public, but criticism continued because there was no precise explanation or apology that the public wanted.
Park Narae opened by saying in a video released on the YouTube channel "Baek Eun-young's Golden Time" on the 16th, "I take seriously that the recently raised issues have caused worry and fatigue to many people." This was Park Narae's official statement eight days after she announced on social media on the 8th that she would suspend activities.
She explained the reason for stepping down, saying, "I voluntarily left all the programs I was doing because of these issues. I made that choice hoping not to cause confusion or burden to the producers and colleagues anymore."
Earlier, on the 3rd Park Narae was served with an application for property provisional seizure at the Seoul Western District Court by her former managers. The former managers alleged they suffered from so-called "gapjil" abuses while working at Park Narae's one-person agency, including verbal abuse, special injury, proxy prescriptions, unpaid hosting fees, and being on constant standby for personal errands.
The controversy that began with allegations of gapjil expanded to alleged violations of the Medical Service Act, including proxy prescriptions and receiving psychotropic drugs from the so-called "injection auntie," and violations of the Popular Culture and Arts Industry Development Act due to not registering a one-person agency. She is also accused of registering an ex-boyfriend as an employee and paying him a monthly salary of 4 million won, and of transferring about 300 million won of company funds.
Regarding this, Park Narae's side denied the allegations in a first statement on the 5th, saying two employees who worked for about one year and three months demanded an additional 10% of the company's revenue after leaving despite receiving proper severance pay, and when that was refused they continued unnecessary misunderstandings and pressure with claims that differed from the facts, so they decided to take legal action. They also claimed that the alleged illegal medical treatment was a visit from a medical professional they referred to as 'injection auntie.'
As the controversy intensified, Park Narae said on social media on the 8th, "Two managers who had lived like family suddenly resigned in early November, and until recently there was no opportunity to talk with the parties involved, which allowed misunderstandings to accumulate. With your help, I was able to meet the former managers only yesterday, and we were able to clear up misunderstandings and distrust between us, but I still believe everything is my fault and I am deeply reflecting on it."
Park Narae added, "As a comedian whose job is to bring laughter and joy, I decided to suspend broadcast activities until everything is resolved cleanly because I thought I could no longer cause trouble to programs and colleagues. I bow my head and deeply apologize once again to everyone who trusted and supported me," saying she would leave all broadcasts.
Park Narae's statement was interpreted to mean an agreement had been reached through talks with the managers, but the managers said the agreement with Park Narae had failed. They proceeded with legal action, and on the 15th the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency chief said at a regular press briefing that "there are five cases filed against Park Narae, and Park Narae's side filed one complaint."
Amid the pouring allegations, the public's attention inevitably focused on Park Narae's "words." If a convincing statement from Park Narae had emerged, there was some expectation that after legal response and self-restraint she could sufficiently return. However, Park Narae remained silent on numerous allegations the public wanted answers to: illegal medical procedures allegedly performed by the injection auntie and IV auntie, the former managers' gapjil controversy, the hiring of an ex-lover as an employee and transfers of company funds, and the allegation that former managers were not covered by the four major social insurances.
Park Narae said, "There are parts of the facts that need to be calmly verified regarding the currently raised issues, and we are proceeding with legal procedures. In that process, I will refrain from additional public comments or explanations. I judge that these matters are not issues of personal feelings or relationships but should be objectively confirmed through official procedures," and said she would handle all matters according to legal procedures.
She emphasized, "This choice is not to blame someone or assign responsibility but a decision to exclude emotions and personal judgments and leave matters to procedure to sort them out," and, to prevent further controversy, she warned, "I will not speak about these matters after this video," indicating she would remain silent on the related allegations going forward.
Meanwhile, after Park Narae suspended activities, shows she appeared on announced edits one after another. Starting with her flagship show MBC "I Live Alone," she left "Save Me! Holmes," and tvN "Amazing Saturday," and the web variety show "Narae-sik" that was scheduled to be released, MBC "I am excited," and "Fam U Trip" were all canceled.
[Photo] OSEN DB, video capture
[OSEN]