Park Soo-hong to take legal action against brother over financial irregularities

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Comedian-TV show host Park Soo-hong with his cat / Korea Times file

Comedian-TV show host Park Soo-hong will file civil and criminal lawsuits against his brother and sister-in-law who have been accused of having embezzling about 10 billion won over the past 30 years.

In a statement released to the media on Saturday, Park's lawyer, Roh Jong-un, claimed the star's brother and sister-in-law had broken a profit-sharing agreement and founded a corporation with money of which the financial source was not clear.

Park had sent a compromise plan to his brother, suggesting fully disclosing the two sides' incomes and sharing them in accordance with the 7:3 ratio they had agreed to earlier, but his brother has not responded to the request.

His brother is also accused of having used a corporate card illegally for his family's living expenses and other personal costs.

“My client and his brother founded a management agency 30 years ago and initially they agreed to share profits at an 8:2 ratio (80 percent to Park and 20 percent to his brother). Later they adjusted to the ratio to 7:3. All revenue of the agency came from Park's earnings. But Park's brother failed to pay him accordingly,” the statement reads.

“My client also found his brother established a corporation in January 2020 with 170 million won of seed money and he requested seven times for his tax accountant to answer where the money came from. But they haven't responded to my client's repeated requests.”

Park will submit the relevant documents to the court on Monday.

His brother, Jin-hong, has made no response to the legal action.

Park previewed the legal action against his brother days after media reports that his brother allegedly had embezzled 10 billion won, allegations the star confirmed.