South Korea's Supreme Court has upheld a prison sentence for the elder brother of television personality Park Soo-hong in a multibillion-won embezzlement case.
The Supreme Court's First Division, presided over by Justice Shin Sook-hee, on Thursday confirmed the appellate court's ruling of three years and six months in prison for the brother, identified only by his surname Park, on charges of embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. The brother's wife, identified as Lee, also received a finalized sentence of one year in prison, suspended for two years.
The couple was indicted for embezzling billions of won in corporate funds from entertainment agencies AEL and Mediaboom, as well as Park Soo-hong's personal funds, while managing the entertainer's career from 2011 to 2021.
The first trial court had convicted the brother only of embezzling 2.1 billion won ($1.5 million) in company funds through corporate card payments and other means, sentencing him to two years in prison. Lee was acquitted at trial due to insufficient evidence of direct involvement.
The appellate court, however, imposed a heavier sentence of three years and six months and ordered the brother taken into immediate custody. Lee's acquittal was also overturned, resulting in the suspended sentence.
"The defendant, as a family member of a famous entertainer, betrayed trust by using the complainant's earnings for personal wealth accumulation," the appellate court said. "This caused ethical controversy including moral hazard in our society."
The court criticized Lee for receiving a salary as the company's registered CEO and director while spending funds at department stores, supermarkets, taekwondo academies, math tutoring centers, amusement parks and kids' cafes—expenditures "completely unrelated to business operations."
The Supreme Court accepted the lower court's judgment without modification.