Park Na-rae to testify in court in trial of former managers accused of threatening to expose her private life

[Financial News] TV personality Park Na-rae, 41, has been selected as a witness in the trial of former managers indicted on charges of threatening Park.
According to News1 and other outlets on the 20th, Presiding Judge Kim Su-gyeong of Criminal Division 4, a single-judge panel at the Seoul Western District Court, accepted the prosecution’s request at the second hearing of Park’s former managers, surnamed Shin and Lee, who were indicted on charges including violating the Act on the Punishment of Violences, etc. (joint extortion), and selected Park as a witness.
The court set the next hearing for 2 p.m. on December 1 and allocated about two hours and 30 minutes for Park’s examination as a witness.
Both former managers denied the charges that day.
Shin is accused of demanding 250 million won—10% of the company’s revenue—from Park as an incentive and threatening that, if the money was not paid, allegations about Park’s insulting conduct and sexual harassment, as well as suspicions of proxy prescriptions for medication, could be exposed through the media. However, Shin reportedly did not receive any money from Park.
Lee was indicted on charges of conveying to Park’s side a message threatening to report sexual harassment, proxy prescriptions and other matters if severance pay and incentives were not paid.
Lee, who did not state a position at the first hearing on the 29th of last month, citing the need to review the investigation records, denied the charges that day.
Lee’s attorney argued, “We sought payment of wages and allowances that remained unpaid after the employment relationship ended,” and said, “There was no extortion of money through threats, nor any conspiracy with Shin.”
Shin’s side had also denied the charges at the first hearing, saying, “It was a legitimate exercise of the right to claim money owed after leaving the job,” and, “We never made media tips conditional on payment.”
Shin also faces charges of diverting funds from Park’s company through occupational embezzlement and fraud by use of computers, etc., including transferring money from Park’s corporate account to a corporate account Shin operated without authorization, and receiving into that account contract payments that were due to Park.
However, Shin’s side admitted only part of the embezzlement charge, saying that some transfers had been made with Park’s consent.
Meanwhile, the legal dispute between Park and the former managers came to light last December, when the managers filed a complaint alleging workplace bullying and illegal acts by Park. Park responded by filing a counter-complaint with police, alleging that they had made false claims, demanded a large sum of money as hush money, and embezzled funds.
At the witness examination scheduled for December 1, the two sides are expected to offer conflicting accounts over the circumstances of the monetary demands and whether threats were made.
[email protected] Kim Su-yeon Reporter