A court ruled that Choi Jong Beom, an ex-boyfriend of singer Goo Hara who was sentenced to prison for assaulting and threatening her, should pay damages to Goo Hara’s bereaved family.
According to legal circles on October 12, Judge Park Min of the Civil Affairs Division 9 of the Seoul Northern District Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff, saying, that Choi Jong beom should pay 78 million won ($54,000) in a compensation suit filed by Goo Hara’s brother and father against Choi last month.
Earlier in July 2020, Goo Hara’s bereaved family filed a lawsuit claiming 100 million won ($69,000), saying that Goo Hara suffered mental distress due to Choi Jong Beom’s assault and made this extreme decision.
Choi Jong Beom was indicted in September 2018 on charges of bruising Goo Hara’s arms and legs and threatening to share sex videos of her while arguing.
The first trial in the court accepted and found Choi Jong Beom guilty of most of the charges, including threats, coercion, injury, and property damage, and sentenced him to one year and six months in prison and three years of probation, and the second trial sentenced him to one year in prison, saying, “The offenses are very bad.” The Supreme Court upheld the second trial ruling in October 2020. However, both the first and second trials and the Supreme Court judged Choi Jong Beom not guilty of illegal filming citing the fact that Choi Jong Beom and Goo Hara both set the same mobile phone password.
Judge Park said,
Choi Jong Beom threatened Goo Hara by exploiting the fact that if the video was spread, she would be unable to engage in more entertainment activities at the same time as it will be a huge sexual humiliation. This would have caused her extreme mental distress. Goo Hara seems to have lost hope and motivation for living in the future compared to the past days when she started her celebrity career at a young age and achieved considerable success. He is responsible for compensating for the mental damage suffered by Goo Hara and the plaintiffs.”
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