"Not a Forged Seal... A Seal Used in the Past"
Park Jun-cheol, the father of golf player-turned-coach Park Se-ri, who is managing the Park Se-ri Hope Foundation, has been sued on charges including forgery of private documents. Park Jun-cheol stated, "I thought that since I am the father, I could step forward."
Former golf player and broadcaster Park Seri is making a statement on the 18th at Space Share Samsung COEX Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, regarding allegations of forgery of private documents by her father. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@
According to an MBC report on the 19th, Park Jun-cheol told an MBC reporter on the 11th, "I thought that since Park Se-ri is involved, the construction company (Sigongsa) would recognize the project in Saemangeum during discussions. Since I am the father, I thought I could step in and handle it." Regarding the misuse of the foundation's official seal, he explained, "The construction company said they needed a letter of intent from the foundation, so I just agreed." He also denied the allegation of secretly making the seal, saying, "I did not make it secretly. I used the seal made during my time as chairman of Seri International before the foundation was established." However, Park currently holds no role or position in the Park Se-ri Hope Foundation.
Earlier, the Park Se-ri Hope Foundation, chaired by Coach Park, filed a police complaint against her father for forgery of private documents and using forged private documents. Park’s father is accused of forging the foundation’s seal and documents during the submission of a letter of intent to participate in a project proposed by a company to establish an international golf school and golf academy in Taean, Chungnam, and Saemangeum, Jeonbuk. The police forwarded the case to the prosecution with a recommendation for indictment at the end of last month.
Golf player turned broadcaster Park Seri is shedding tears while making a statement on the 18th at Space Share Samsung COEX Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, regarding her father's alleged forgery of private documents. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@
Coach Park held a press conference on the 18th and revealed that she was the first to suggest filing the complaint to the foundation’s board. She said, "The complaint was filed on behalf of the foundation, but since I am the chairperson and this is not a personal matter, I thought it was important to separate public and private affairs, so I proceeded with the complaint." She added, "I was the first to raise the seriousness of the case to the board, and I was the first to express the opinion that filing the complaint was the right thing to do."
Coach Park also explained that the background of the complaint involved her father’s ongoing debt issues. She tearfully said, "After retiring as a player and living in Korea, many situations surfaced. At that time, since it was family, I tried to quietly resolve things within my capacity. But whenever one debt issue was resolved, another surfaced, and after resolving that, yet another problem appeared. That became the reason for the complaint. That’s how the current situation came about."
Park Jun-cheol has not made any further statements following Coach Park’s press conference.
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