Choi Jong-beom, ex-boyfriend of the late Goo Hara of the popular girl group KARA, still did not seem to admit all of his faults. It is likely to remain a scar for the deceased, who is watching from heaven as well as her bereaved family.
The Civil Affairs Division 9 of the Seoul Northern District Court recently ruled in favor of the plaintiff in a compensation suit filed by the bereaved family of Goo Hara against Choi Jong-beom, requiring him to pay a total of 78 million won to the bereaved family, but Choi Jong-beom objected and filed an appeal.
Goo Hara’s bereaved family filed a 100 million won alimony suit, saying, “Goo Hara suffered severe mental pain due to Choi Jong-beom’s threats and coercion, and eventually left this world.” “He threatened Gu Ha-ra by exploiting the enormous sexual shame she would suffer. Goo Hara and her bereaved family had suffered much mental anguish. He is responsible for compensating for the mental damage they have suffered,” the court ruled in favor of the bereaved family.
The battle between the late Goo Hara, her family and Choi Jong-beom began in September 2018 with a bilateral assault case. It was initially known as the Goo Hara assault case, with Choi Jong-beom reporting to the police on charges of injury and revealing the wound himself, saying that he was assaulted by Goo. However, after taking a closer look, it was not only a physical fight that took place after they failed to control each other’s emotions, but also Choi Jong-beom’s past abusive messages and assaults were released, and the case soon grew bigger.
In the end, both were handed over to the prosecution after a police summons. In October 2018, the video threat issue was revealed, and the deceased filed a complaint. The offender finally admitted to the video himself, turning the simple dating violence case into a sex crime case.
Police raided Choi Jong-beom’s vehicle and workplace immediately after Goo Hara’s additional complaint, formed a task force with the criminal department and expanded the investigation. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office charged Choi Jong-beom without detention in January 2019.
Choi Jong-beom was eventually handed over to trial and went to the Supreme Court, where he received a sentence of one year in prison in 2020. However, he was not convicted of illegal filming, which was linked to Choi Jong-beom’s “Revenge Porn” issue. At the time, the deceased’s biological brother, Koo Hae-in, told Star News, “It is a separate concept to endure implied consent and pain in a relationship, but it is a Supreme Court ruling, so I respect and accept it.”
However, according to insiders and others, Choi Jong-beom said in the first trial, “It is true that I committed illegal acts, but in the process of arguing with the decedent, the decedent first assaulted and injured my face, which accidentally made me committed illegal acts.” He also claimed that his degree of illegality was minor, that he had not threatened or forced to distribute their sex videos, that he had only threatened Goo once, and that there had been no additional video distribution or requests for money and valuables.
According to the court at the time, Choi Jong-beom was in a relationship with the deceased and injured Goo Hara in the process of their breaking up. He threatened to report their sex video to the media, saying, “I will not let her live as a celebrity.” He also called in representatives of her agency and acquaintances in the entertainment industry to ask them to kneel in front of him. Looking at this part alone, it was easy to see that he threatened by using those videos regardless of whether it was filmed illegally.
Source: naver
