'Tears over Father's Debt' Park Seri... Hong Joon-pyo Says "Parents Have Infinite Responsibility for Children"

Park Seri Opens Up About Father's Debt Issues
Hong Jun-pyo: "Parents Have Infinite Responsibility for Their Children"

Former golf player Park Seri showed tears regarding her father's debt issues, while Hong Jun-pyo, the mayor of Daegu, sharply remarked, "Parents must have infinite responsibility for their children."

(From left) Former golf player Park Seri, Hong Jun-pyo, Mayor of Daegu.
Photo by Asia Economy, Yonhap News Agency

On the 20th, a post titled "Asking about the Park Seri issue" was uploaded on 'Youth's Dream,' a political platform created by Daegu Mayor Hong Jun-pyo. The author, Mr. A, wrote, "Park Seri held a tearful press conference saying she can no longer repay her father's excessive debts and will 'cut ties.' In your memoirs or past interviews, you often talked about your mother. What do you think qualifies as a father?"

In response to the question, Mayor Hong said, "Parents must have infinite responsibility for their children," and added, "The Park Seri case is a matter of putting the cart before the horse." This implies that the responsibilities and roles between parents and children have been reversed.

Earlier, the Park Seri Hope Foundation, chaired by Park Seri, filed a complaint against her father, Park Jun-cheol, on charges including forgery of private documents. Park Jun-cheol is known to have secretly made and used the foundation's seal during the Saemangeum marine leisure tourism complex project participation. In response, Park Seri held a press conference on the 18th, stating that as the foundation chairperson, she had no choice but to take legal action against her father. She also revealed that she had suffered emotionally for a long time trying to resolve her father's debt problems.

Park Seri said, "Because we are family, I have done my best even when financial problems arose, but my father's debt issues were a repeated cycle where solving one problem was like lining up the next debt issue as if on a queue." She added, "As a result, the problem grew bigger and reached the current situation. Since this incident, I have not been in contact with my father." In response, Park Jun-cheol explained in an MBC interview, "Because I am the father, I thought I could step in," and said, "The construction company said they needed a letter of intent from the foundation, so I just agreed."