The prison sentence for TV personality Park Soo-hong’s older brother, Mr. Park―charged with embezzling appearance fees and other funds―has been finalized at three years and six months. His sister-in-law, Ms. Lee, received a one-year-and-six-month sentence suspended for two years.
On the 26th, the Supreme Court’s First Division dismissed the appeals filed by Mr. Park and Ms. Lee, who were indicted for violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes (embezzlement), and upheld the lower court’s ruling.
Prosecutors indicted Mr. Park in October 2022 for allegedly embezzling company funds, including Park Soo-hong’s broadcast appearance fees, while running the entertainment agencies Rael and Media Boom from 2011 to 2021. The indictment initially put the amount at about 6.17 billion won, but during the first trial, after excluding overlapping entries, prosecutors adjusted it to about 4.8 billion won.
In the first trial, the court found Mr. Park guilty for only about 2 billion won of the alleged embezzlement and sentenced him to two years in prison. Ms. Lee was acquitted due to a lack of direct evidence of collusion.
The appeals court took a harsher view. Citing the seriousness of Mr. Park’s methods and the lack of restitution, it increased his sentence to three years and six months. It also overturned Ms. Lee’s acquittal in part, finding her guilty on several counts including personal use of a corporate card, and handed down a one-year-and-six-month sentence suspended for two years.
The Supreme Court rejected Mr. Park’s claim that the sentence was excessive, stating that in cases with sentences under 10 years, an appeal based solely on alleged sentencing unfairness is inadmissible. It also dismissed Ms. Lee’s appeal, finding no legal error in the lower court’s judgment.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)