[Sportschosun reporter Kim Jun-seok] A former manager of television personality Park Na-rae, who was indicted on charges of demanding money by threatening to disclose details of her private life, denied most of the allegations at his first hearing. However, he admitted to part of the occupational embezzlement charge.
The Seoul Western District Court's Criminal Division 4, a single-judge panel, held the first hearing on the 29th for Shin and Lee, former managers of Park Na-rae who were indicted on charges including violating the Act on the Punishment of Violent Acts, etc. (joint extortion).
Shin's attorney argued, "We never demanded 500 million won" and claimed, "We were exercising legitimate rights, including the right to severance pay and performance bonuses."
The defense maintains that Shin never demanded money in exchange for providing information to the media and therefore lacked both the execution of extortion and the intent to commit it.
Prosecutors believe the two pressured Park Na-rae by suggesting that they would inform the media about allegations concerning her private life and the operation of her company, in an attempt to obtain money from her.
According to the indictment, Shin told a labor consultant last November that he was entitled to a 250 million won incentive equivalent to 10% of the company's sales. He reportedly indicated that if a lawsuit proceeded, related details would be reported in the news and damage Park Na-rae's reputation.
Investigators found that Lee also sent a text message to Park Na-rae's representatives, saying that he would report the matter to the Ministry of Employment and Labor and disclose various allegations concerning Park Na-rae if his severance pay and incentives were not paid.
Prosecutors concluded that the two attempted to obtain money by sending a settlement agreement, but that the attempt failed because Park Na-rae did not comply.
The allegations contained in the text messages were raised by the defendants and have not been verified as facts.
Shin is also accused of embezzling company funds, including by transferring approximately 24 million won from the corporate account of a company operated by Park Na-rae to a corporate account he operated.
Shin's side denied the allegations, saying that he did not personally carry out some of the transfers or had Park Na-rae's approval.
However, he admitted to the occupational embezzlement charge involving the transfer of part of the company's funds to his own account in June last year and using the money at his discretion.
Lee, who was indicted along with Shin, did not state a specific position on the charges at the hearing. The next hearing will be held at 10:20 a.m. on October 20.
narusi@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
