After it was admitted that Choi Jong Bum’s threat to the late Hara drove her to commit suicide, the court ordered him to make amends to the idol’s grieving family.
The late South Korean pop singer and actress Goo Hara was in a relationship with a former South Korean football midfielder, Choi Jong Bum but their relationship was not like a normal couple. According to the report Hara was mentally tortured by Choi Jong Bum which resulted in her suicide.
Goo Hara and Choi Jong Bum, her ex-boyfriend, got into a violent fight in September 2018. Goo Hara responded to Choi Jong Bum’s initial police accusation that he had assaulted her by claiming that Choi Jong Bum had threatened to destroy her career and blackmailed her with a sex tape.
Both were ultimately handed over to the prosecution on separate counts, but Goo Hara’s case was suspended while Choi Jong Bum went to trial.
Prosecutors accused Choi Bum of breaching the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of S*xual Crimes in 2019 by photographing body parts without permission, assault resulting in bodily harm, extortion, coercion, destruction, and damage to property.
He was sentenced to one year and six months in prison in August 2019 following his first trial, with the remainder suspended for three years of probation. Both the defendant and the prosecution appealed this decision.
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How much amount Choi Jong Bum as Restitution?
According to legal sources, Choi Bum was ordered to pay the grieving family of Hara a total of 78 million KRW (about $54,685 USD) on October 12 by judge Park Min of the 9th independent civil affairs department of the Seoul Northern District Court.
In the most recent hearing, the court determined that Hara suffered significant psychological harm as a result of Choi Bum’s illegal activities, such as assault and threats, which compelled her to make a drastic decision.
The court gave the statement, “In order to prevent Ms. Goo from continuing her activities in the entertainment sector and to bring her disgrace through the s*x tapes, Mr. Choi threatened her by announcing that he would release the s*xual videos he had recorded.
“Despite having experienced significant success and having begun her career as a celebrity at a young age, it seemed that she had lost hope and ambition for the future.
Since it can be observed that Choi Bum’s activities led Goo Hara to make an extreme decision, he has also significantly hurt Ms. Goo’s family psychologically.” As a result of the hearing, Choi Bum is asked to pay compensation to Hara’s family for all the suffering.
