The former actress accused of blackmailing and receiving money from the late Lee Sun Gyun has been cleared of child abuse charges.
On July 22, the legal community reported that the Women's and Children's Crime Investigation Department of the Incheon District Prosecutor's Office decided not to prosecute Ms. Park, who was facing charges of violating the Child Welfare Act (child abuse).
In December of last year, Ms. Park attended a warrant hearing at the Incheon District Court while holding her one-year-old child. She was accused of extorting money from Lee Sun Gyun.
Ms. Park was criticized for bringing her very young child to the hearing, despite the child having no relevance to the case.
As a result, a civic group accused Ms. Park of emotionally abusing her child by exposing them to a frightening environment with dozens of cameras and a crowd of people.
However, the prosecution concluded that Ms. Park was not guilty, considering her status as a single mother and the lack of anyone to care for the child.
Ms. Park reportedly lives with her baby in a correctional facility and brings the child to court for every trial date.
Ms. Park was indicted and detained in January on charges of blackmailing Lee Sun Gyun for 100 million KRW (~72,070 USD) in October last year and extorting 50 million KRW (~36,035 USD).
Ms. Park allegedly contacted Ms. Kim, a woman she knew from prison in 2017, using three different illegal SIM cards and pretending to be a hacker.
She sent Telegram messages to Ms. Kim, saying, "Don't you have many photos of celebrities that could shake the country in your phone album?" and demanded hundreds of millions of KRW, implying she knew about Ms. Kim's relationship with Mr. Lee.
Ms. Kim received 300 million won from Mr. Lee, claiming she needed the money to stop the threats from the alleged hacker but did not give it to Ms. Park. After not receiving the money from Ms. Kim, Ms. Park directly blackmailed Mr. Lee and obtained 50 million won from him at a restaurant in Gangnam, Seoul, in October last year through another acquaintance. Ms. Park also reported the drug use allegations involving Mr. Lee and Ms. Kim to the police.
Currently, Ms. Park is facing trial on five charges, including blackmail, aiding and abetting blackmail, and driving without a license under the Road Traffic Act.
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