Park Shin-young rebuffs claims she hid in vehicle after fatal crash

Former announcer Park Shin-young. [Yonhap·SNS capture]

Park Shin-young, a former announcer who has reinvented herself as a TikToker, addressed rumors surrounding a traffic accident she caused five years ago and laid out her current position on the incident.

Park posted a statement on her social media Wednesday, rebuffing claims that had spread through media reports. "Stories have circulated that I hid in my vehicle without even getting out after the accident, and that I failed to take action while the victim was trapped under the vehicle," she wrote. "In fact, that is not what happened."

Park explained why she had stayed silent at the time rather than pushing back. "It was not that I had no desire to set the record straight, but I agonized over whether it was right, as a human being, to actively defend myself on the grounds that reports were inaccurate — given that someone had lost their life," she said. "I was worried it might look as though I was trying to evade responsibility for the accident, or cause additional pain to the bereaved family."

While Park remained silent, accounts that differed from the facts spread through media outlets and YouTube, eventually hardening into accepted narrative and drawing widespread criticism.

"I believe I must bear responsibility for the accident, and that conviction has not changed," Park said. "But I do not think I should have to endure criticism for things I did not do." She added that she would "respond firmly, after legal review, to reports containing false information, the spread of falsehoods, and personal attacks amounting to defamation and insult."

Former announcer Park Shin-young. [TikTok·IOK Company]

Park also spoke about the guilt she carries over the accident. "The fact that the trial is over does not mean the accident is over, and I do not believe that fulfilling my legal responsibility erases my moral responsibility," she said. "Every day I remind myself that someone lost their life in an accident connected to me."

"My TikTok livestreams may look like I am laughing and having fun, but that does not mean I have forgotten the past," Park said. "I still live with a sense of remorse."

"One of the reasons I am trying so hard is that I want to become someone who can one day offer even a small measure of practical help to the bereaved family," she said. "I will spend the rest of my life in a spirit of atonement, and at the same time live out my remaining years with sincerity. That is the least I can do — and my pledge."

In May 2021, Park was driving at 102 kilometers per hour in a 40-kilometer-per-hour zone in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, when her vehicle collided with a motorcycle that had entered an intersection against a red light. A delivery worker in their 50s died in the crash. In December of that year, Park was sentenced to a fine of 15 million won ($11,200) on charges of violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning Traffic Accidents resulting in death.

paq@heraldcorp.com