The head of a food company, referred to as Mr. A, who previously filed a complaint against broadcaster Park Soo-hong (age 55) for alleged blackmail, has now also filed a complaint against Park's former attorney on the same charge.
The Gangnam Police Station in Seoul announced on November 12 that it had received a complaint against Park's former legal representative, Mr. B, on suspicion of blackmail.
Mr. A claims that Mr. B threatened him over the phone in order to secure more favorable business terms for Park. It has also been reported that Mr. A and Park had entered into a business partnership agreement, under which they were to split operating profits equally, at a 50:50 ratio.
In a statement released the same day, Mr. B expressed deep regret over being accused of blackmail immediately after the complaint against Park Soo-hong was dismissed without charges. He stated, "It is clear that this is a malicious attempt to delay proceedings and sway public opinion ahead of the civil court ruling regarding the model fee."
He continued, "The essence of this case is that the head of the food company used Park Soo-hong's portrait rights without any formal contract and profited from selling products, while not paying a single won in model fees during the process."
Mr. B plans to take legal action for false accusation and defamation, among other reasons.
In September 2023, Park filed a civil lawsuit against Mr. A's company, claiming he had not received the 496 million won model fee for his appearance as an advertising model for a convenience store squid product. The trial is currently ongoing.
On November 7, the police cleared Park of all charges in the blackmail case filed by Mr. A.
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