Chung Yoo-ra: "Could I Get 50 Million Won for Mom's Hospital Bills?" ... Kneels and Makes a Tearful Plea on Livestream

[Financial News] Choi Seo-won (formerly Choi Soon-sil) was serving a prison sentence in connection with the influence-peddling scandal when she was granted a suspension of her sentence on health grounds. Her daughter, Chung Yoo-ra, made a tearful appeal during a YouTube livestream, saying she was struggling to pay her mother's hospital bills.
Chung appeared on the YouTube channel Lee Young-don TV on the 12th and gave an update on Choi, who is receiving inpatient treatment at a hospital in Seoul.
She said, "The hospital bills come to about 10 million won every two to three weeks, so I need at least 50 million won to make it until next February. The billing office calls me ten times a day to demand payment, and staff even come in person."
According to Chung, Choi's condition has worsened with symptoms of sepsis, and she has been transferred to an outside hospital. She has undergone two surgeries, first on her shoulder and then on her back, but inflammation is pressing on spinal nerves, leaving her unable to use her lower body. She is also reportedly showing signs of delirium.
Chung said, "My mother's assets were auctioned off to cover the forfeiture and fines, and the prosecution took everything. I have even used the deposit on the home I lived in to pay her hospital bills, so I don't have a penny left. If it were up to me, I'd even sell my own organs to keep my mother in the hospital."
Choi was released in June after being granted a three-month suspension of her sentence on health grounds while serving time at Cheongju Women's Correctional Institution. In September, the Cheongju District Prosecutors' Office granted Choi's request to extend the suspension by two months. Chung said on the broadcast that day that the suspension had been extended again, this time until the end of February next year.
Chung said, "My mother is under a 'hospital-only suspension of sentence,' so if she can't pay the hospital bills and has to be discharged, the suspension will be revoked immediately and she'll be sent straight back to Cheongju Prison."
At the end of the broadcast, she knelt in front of the camera and pleaded, "Please help so my mother can stay in the hospital until February."
In June 2020, the Supreme Court finalized Choi's sentence in the Park Geun-hye administration influence-peddling scandal: 18 years in prison, a 20 billion won fine and approximately 6.3 billion won in additional collection. Including a three-year sentence in the Ewha Womans University academic corruption case, she was sentenced to a total of 21 years in prison and is expected to be released upon completing her sentence in 2037.
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