The older brother and sister-in-law, who were sentenced to prison and given suspended sentences for embezzling billions of won in appearance fees and other funds while running broadcaster Park Soo-hong's agency, appealed.
according to legal sources, the older brother and sister-in-law filed a notice of appeal through an attorney on the 22nd. The exact reasons for the appeal were not disclosed, but their appeal sends the case to the Supreme Court.
Earlier, Park Soo-hong said that from 2011 to 2021 he suffered financial losses during the time his older brother and sister-in-law managed his management and in April 2021 he filed a complaint against his older brother and sister-in-law on charges of embezzlement.
Prosecutors found that the older brother, Mr. Park, took Park Soo-hong's bankbook, resident registration card, seal and digital certificate and used about 2,895,000,000 won arbitrarily over hundreds of times from 2011 to 2019, and that he registered fake employees and embezzled 1,900,000,000 won, leading to his arrest and prosecution. Prosecutors also found that the older brother and sister-in-law withdrew lawyer fees arising from this lawsuit from Park Soo-hong's appearance fee account, and Park Soo-hong's sister-in-law, Ms. Lee, was indicted without detention on charges of partial involvement.
Accordingly, Park Soo-hong's older brother and sister-in-law were indicted and are on trial on charges of embezzling about 6.2 billion won from Park Soo-hong's appearance fees and company funds while running entertainment agencies Rael and Mediaboom from 2011 to 2021. The first trial court found them guilty of 2 billion won in company funds and not guilty of embezzling 1.6 billion won of the younger brother's money, and sentenced him to two years in prison. Sister-in-law Ms. Lee was acquitted.
However, on the 19th the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 7 sentenced the older brother, Mr. Park, who was indicted on charges of embezzlement in violation of the Act on Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, to three years and six months in prison, and, finding a risk of flight, issued an arrest warrant and placed him in custody in court.
The sister-in-law, Ms. Lee, who was acquitted in the first trial, was also found partially guilty and sentenced to one year in prison, with a two-year suspended sentence and 120 hours of community service. Immediately after the verdict, Ms. Lee left the courtroom in tears.
The court said, "This case, as a family company with weak internal oversight systems, abused the trust of Park Soo-hong, who is a sibling, and went beyond infringing the proprietary interests of the victims who are the direct victims of embezzlement and breach of trust to disrupt the tax order that should be properly upheld alongside the corporate system. Furthermore, it caused significant property and psychological damage to the actual victim, Park Soo-hong."
It added, "Considering the reprehensible nature of the crime and the seriousness of its consequences, severe punishment commensurate with the guilt is unavoidable," and said, "As a result of following the flow of funds that the defendant diverted from the victims through the crime, a considerable amount appears to have been used to acquire personal assets such as real estate in the names of Mr. Park and his wife."
The court also criticized their repayments, saying, "Partial repayment of the damage cannot be accepted either. Even if they repaid, the source of the funds is entirely Park Soo-hong's income, so the real victim of the embezzlement and breach of trust is Park Soo-hong," and said, "Mr. Park has not restored any losses to the actual victim, Park Soo-hong, through the second trial, and does not appear to have made any particular effort to do so. Park Soo-hong has repeatedly petitioned for severe punishment of Mr. Park in both the first and second trials."
[Photo] OSEN DB
[OSEN]