Prosecutors sought seven years in prison on appeal for the older brother of TV personality Park Su-hong, Park Jin-hong, 57, who is accused of embezzling tens of billions of won, including agency funds.
On the 12th, at the sentencing hearing in Park Jin-hong's case on charges of embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, held before the Criminal Division 7 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judge Lee Jae-gwon), prosecutors requested the same sentence. For his wife, Ms. Lee, 54, who was indicted alongside him, they sought three years in prison.
In the first trial, prosecutors also sought seven years for Park and three years for Lee. The first-trial court sentenced Park to two years in prison and acquitted Lee. Considering there was no risk of flight or evidence destruction, the court did not take them into custody in the courtroom.
Prosecutors said, "Park repeatedly embezzled large sums over a long period but falsely claimed the money was used for Park Su-hong, concealing how it was spent, and there has been no recovery of damages." They added, "Despite the risk of damaging entertainer Park Su-hong's image, the defendant's attitude is poor, including blaming the victim."
In a tearful final statement, Park said, "I know I must take full responsibility, but there is no sibling to care for our elderly parents," and added, "Because of this case, the entire family is going through something hard to bear. I ask for leniency." Ms. Lee said, "Please allow me, as a mother, to take good care of the children for the rest of my life."
A representative for Park Su-hong said, "Park Su-hong's 30-year youth was denied, and his ties with his parents and siblings were severed because of the defendants' crimes," adding, "He could only enjoy the ordinary happiness of marrying the person he loves and having a child after turning 50." The representative then asked the court, "Unless the defendants fully acknowledge their wrongdoing and sincerely apologize to Park Su-hong, please impose a heavy sentence."
Park was sent to trial in Oct. 2022 on charges of embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes for allegedly siphoning off tens of billions of won in company funds and his younger brother Park Su-hong's personal funds while exclusively handling his management from 2011 to 2021. His sister-in-law, Ms. Lee, was also indicted without detention on suspicion of participating in some of the embezzlement.
In the first trial, the court only partially recognized the charge that Park embezzled 2 billion won in company funds. It found him not guilty of allegedly diverting and using about 1.6 billion won of Park Su-hong's personal funds. The court said it would hold the sentencing hearing on the 19th of next month.