Thief in the family: Should law forgive when you don't?

The bitter money feud between TV personality Park Soo-hong and his older brother who is also his former manager continues in South Korea, with their father recently entering the media spotlight for his sudden “confession” that he, not the accused son, embezzled Park’s earnings.

Although the father’s claim was dismissed as groundless by investigators, it threw light on the country’s long-held legal practice of exempting parents of criminal liability for financial crimes inflicted on children.

Under the current law, it is possible for Park’s father to avoid legal punishment, even if he did really misappropriate Park’s money. A large number of local media outlets raised the suspicion that the father, aware of the law, may have attempted to take the rap for his older son and help him escape possible jail time.

"The father, who is in his 80s, asserted that he managed both company and personal bank accounts,” Park’s attorney said.

On Oct. 7, public prosecutors indicted Park’s brother with physical detention, concluding that he had embezzled some 6.17 billion won ($4.3 million) via a management agency set up to represent the comedian. The prosecution also charged Park's sister-in-law as an accomplice in the case.

According to the probe, which was initiated by a complaint filed by the TV personality in April last year, the older Park is accused of withdrawing 2.9 billion won from the younger brother's personal accounts without permission. While operating the management agency between 2011 and 2021, he is accused of embezzling 1.9 billion won of corporate funds by falsifying labor expenses and siphoning off another 1.17 billion won to purchase real estate under his name.

If found guilty, the older Park could face imprisonment of a minimum five years. As the brothers have lived separately and worked together via a legal entity -- the management firm -- their money fight is not subject to the family exemption clause.

Family exemption disputed

Korea’s Criminal Act stipulates that wealth crimes such as theft, fraud and embezzlement that occur between direct relatives, spouses, relatives living together and family members living together are not subject to criminal liability. Immediate family and spouses can be exempted even if they do not live together, but other relatives who do not live together can be prosecuted if the victim sues the offender.

The exemption clause was introduced in 1953 in a bid to minimize the intervention of law enforcement into family matters. It reflected a heavily family-oriented society at that time where property was often managed and used jointly among family members and close relatives.

But there have been growing voices that the law should be altered or abolished in accordance with the current trend, as the perception of relatives has changed and property crimes against relatives have been on the rise.

the issue was brought up during the National Assembly's recent audit of the Ministry of Justice.

As Rep. Park Beom-kye of the opposition Democratic Party of Korea raised the need for law revision, Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon responded, "I think it is difficult to apply the rules in today's society.”

As family size grows smaller and individualism replaces traditional family-centered collectivism, there have been growing calls for the revision of family-related laws.

In another example of a law under scrutiny for not reflecting changes in people’s values, the country’s Criminal Act stipulates a stricter punishment for killing one’s lineal ascendant -- meaning parents or grandparents -- but does not have a separate clause on killing of one’s lineal descendent.

While murder is punishable by a minimum five years in jail, the jail time rises to at least seven years when the killer is the offspring and the victim is his or her parent or grandparent.

When a parent kills his or her own child, the regular murder charge is applied, although the punishment can be reduced or increased by the court depending on the criteria set by the Sentencing Commission.

The different degree of punishment between parricide and matricide cases sparked debates in recent years. In July this year, Rep. Lee Tae-kyu of the ruling People Power Party proposed a revision bill that would apply aggravated punishment to charges of murder of a direct descendant equal to that for parricide cases.