Broadcaster Park Na-rae's theft case in which she was the victim has come to an end with a Supreme Court ruling. While Park Na-rae has eased some of the burden by resolving the case in which she was the victim, her comeback still faces many obstacles.
On the 16th, the Supreme Court's 1st Division (Presiding Justice Shin Sook-hee) dismissed the appeal of Mr. A, who was indicted on charges of theft and nighttime home invasion, and affirmed the lower court's sentence of two years in prison.
Mr. A was brought to trial on charges of breaking into Park Na-rae's home in Yongsan District, Seoul, in April last year and fleeing after stealing valuables worth tens of millions of won. In September last year, the trial court sentenced him to two years in prison, and Mr. A appealed, but the appellate court also sentenced him to two years in prison, the same as the first trial.
Mr. A, dissatisfied with the second trial, took the case to the Supreme Court. Mr. A asked for leniency, saying, "I sincerely apologize to the victims and ask for forgiveness. I voluntarily turned over the items I had during the police investigation and am repaying the damage amount. Please let me return to society a little earlier so I can justly restore the damage," but the court ruled, "Considering that the crime was committed during the probation period and there is no significant change in circumstances compared with the first trial, it is difficult to see the lower court's sentence as outside a reasonable range."
With this, the theft case involving Park Na-rae that carried over into the new year has been concluded. With the case in which Park Na-rae was entirely the victim resolved, her heavy heart has been somewhat lightened. However, Park Na-rae's comeback faces many obstacles because the suspicions and controversies surrounding her have not yet been clearly resolved.
First, the manager power‑abuse case is ongoing. Park Na-rae's former managers on Dec. 3 last year filed for a provisional seizure of real estate worth about 100 million won at the Seoul Western District Court, alleging workplace harassment, proxy prescriptions, and nonpayment of production fees, and subsequently filed a complaint with the Seoul Gangnam Police Station accusing Park Na-rae of special injury, defamation by false statements, and violation of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection. In response, Park Na-rae filed a criminal complaint against her former managers for attempted extortion and then filed additional charges of embezzlement in the course of business.
Park Na-rae was questioned by police twice in connection with the manager-related case. After finishing a police investigation in February, she said, "I participated sincerely and answered truthfully," but avoided specific comment on the manager's allegations of power abuse and the circumstances of thrown drink containers, saying, "Those parts will be revealed through the investigation." After a seven-hour second summons interrogation, Park Na-rae only said, "I answered the questions sincerely. I think it will be revealed through the investigation. I apologize for causing concern," and left without making specific comments.
And the allegation of illegal medical procedures received from the so‑called "injection aunt" has not yet been clearly revealed. In the whirlwind that swept the entertainment industry called the "injection aunt gate," Park Na-rae was at the center. Park Na-rae said she believed the injection aunt was a "doctor" and maintained that she too was deceived, while injection aunt B released posts during a police investigation that seemed to express feelings of betrayal and targeted some entertainers.
Because issues different from the theft case that everyone supported Park Na-rae on remain, Park Na-rae's comeback also seems distant. With the theft case concluded by the Supreme Court ruling, attention is focused on whether Park Na-rae, who has shed some of the burden, can explain the points she feels are unfair and return to viewers.
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