The Seoul High Court Sunday upheld a ruling by a lower court that fined a nightclub singer 7 million won for impersonating pop star Park Sang-min.
The amateur singer, identified as Lim, had performed at nightclubs in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province for one year, cashing in on his likeness to the real Park. He went by a nickname that sounded like the real singer, lip-synched to recordings, wore sunglasses and grew a mustache and beard in the same manner as Park.
The ruling came after Park and Lim both lodged appeals early this year. Park claimed the court sentence was too light, while Lim said he never impersonated the singer.
The court said Lim was guilty of impersonating Park and earning money from it, but that imitating Park's appearance was not an offense.