Ruling postponed twice at Seoul Western District Court

Broadcaster Park Su-hong. [Yonhap]
Broadcaster Park Su-hong. [Yonhap]

A first-instance verdict in broadcaster Park Su-hong's 9.8 billion won ($7.4 million) damages suit against his older brother and sister-in-law has been pushed back to next month — the second postponement in the case.

The 12th Civil Division of Seoul Western District Court is now scheduled to deliver its ruling on Nov. 13 in the suit Park filed against his brother, identified only by the surname Park, and his sister-in-law, identified only by the surname Lee.

The court had originally closed arguments on July 10 and set Sept. 11 as the sentencing date, before rescheduling once. The ruling has now been delayed a second time.

No specific reason for the latest postponement has been disclosed. Park's attorney said the legal team had not received any explanation from the court.

The defendants submitted a reference brief to the court on Wednesday, just before the previously scheduled ruling date, and Park's side filed its own reference brief on Thursday — a sequence that may have contributed to the delay.

Park's brother is accused of misappropriating company funds for personal use and embezzling Park's personal earnings while exclusively managing his entertainment career from 2011 to 2021. His sister-in-law also faces charges of participating in some of the embezzlement, including the personal use of a corporate credit card.

Park filed an 11.6 billion won damages claim against the couple in 2021. He later raised the amount to 19.8 billion won after recalculating losses from more than two decades of alleged accounting irregularities, but the claim was adjusted to approximately 9.8 billion won during the trial.

The brother and sister-in-law were previously convicted of aggravated embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. In February, the Supreme Court sentenced Park's brother to three years and six months in prison and his sister-in-law to one year, suspended, with a two-year probation period.


jshan@heraldcorp.com