Park Soo-hong confirms his brother ran with Park’s earnings

Longtime comedian Park Soo-hong confirmed Monday that he is in a financial dispute with his brother and sister-in-law, after rumors of the conflict circulated online over the weekend.

The matter was brought to light when someone claimed in a comment to Park’s YouTube channel that his brother, who has been the entertainer‘s manager for 30 years at Park’s one-man agency, took all of his earnings for 30 years, estimated to be over 10 billion won ($8.8 million). The post also claimed that Park’s brother and his wife had opposed Park’s marriage in fear of him losing steady income. Park, who appears on SBS entertainment show “My Little Old Boy” with his mother, discovered his brother and sister-in-law’s actions, but by then the two could not be reached.

Speculation spread as Park’s statements in recent broadcasts seemed to align with the rumor. Park had mentioned in a past show that his plans to marry his girlfriend failed because of his family’s objection.

Park confirmed the rumor through his Instagram post on Monday afternoon.

“As this was a family issue before it was an issue with my previous agency, I wanted to solve this quietly. But as this is the case, I leave this post for those who support me and worry about me,” said Park. “It is true that I suffered financial losses at my previous agency. It’s also true that that agency was run in my brother and my sister-in-law’s names. After 30 years, I realized much of what I have achieved isn’t mine. Although I was shocked and tried to talk it out to set things right, I have been unable to get a response.”

Park recently established a new agency called Dahongyirang Entertainment, named after his cat.

By Lim Jang-won (ljw@heraldcorp.com)