Park Bo-gum's Life in Loan Shark's Shadow Revealed

[iviih.livejournal.com]

Park Bo-geom, who shot to fame in the hugely popular tvN soap "Answer Me 1988", was until recently a bankrupt struggling to get out from under his father's debt, it has been revealed. The revelation came as a shock to viewers who have grown used to his pretty-boy image.

In 2008, when Park was just a teenager, his father borrowed W300 million from a loan shark to start a business and had the boy co-guarantee the debt (US$1=W1,238).

But the business went bankrupt and his father became unable to repay the debt. As interest piled up the debt ballooned to W800 million in 2014.

When Park started acting, the loan shark demanded that he pay for the debt. Park refused saying he was not making enough money to repay the debt, and the loan shark sued him in late 2014.

In court Park argued that he had no obligation to repay the debt since he was under age at the time it was taken out and completely unaware that his father had made him a guarantor. The court still ordered him to repay a portion of his father's debt, which in turn would be whittled down significantly.

But Park refused to accept the ruling and filed for bankruptcy in December 2014. At the time, he was playing supporting roles in various movies and soaps but got no starring parts.

In March last year, the court accepted Park's request and declared him bankrupt, with a probe ensuing to determine how much of the debt should be written off. The loan shark claimed Park was fully capable of repaying the debt because he was an entertainer.

But after reviewing Park's income, the court recommended writing off all but W30 million of the debt. The loan shark accepted the ruling and Park was officially debt-free as of September of last year.

That was just as he was filming "Answer Me 1988", which made him a star.

The government in 2013 banned third-party guarantees of a person's debt, but the law was not retroactive and those who guaranteed other people's debts before the new regulation remained liable.

Park debuted in 2011 in the movie "Blind".


(x)

His father is shady tbh. I think it was his plan all along to never pay the debts by using his minor son.

Source: Chosun

Comments

[wildette.livejournal.com]

Damn reminds me of his character in coin locker girl

I wonder how his relationship with his father is now

[jasmineakaiumi.livejournal.com]

idt i'd be able to trust my dad after that tbh i think it'd scar me for life

[jaelissi.livejournal.com]

******* **** the court still made him pay even though he was a minor at the time??

[mlmello.livejournal.com]

what a shady father... when that story of park bogum being a part of a cult or something, did it have something with his father? I don't remember the story details or his explanation for it.

well, good thing that PBG cleared his name from this.
kids should never be responsible for their parents mistakes/crimes just because they're family.

[jaelissi.livejournal.com]

He denied the cult thing and it just looked like a regular church to me. But I'm used to rowdy churches with people speaking in tongues and such. Maybe the accusers just think it's weird

[fabulousdoll.livejournal.com]

The government in 2013 banned third-party guarantees of a person's debt
I don't even get how someone could use his under age son as the third-party and being legal.

[921227.livejournal.com]

Ugh, this reminds me of how, back in the day, parents would put utility bills in their kids name or take out credit lines under their names and when they became adults their credit was completely ruined.
I'm glad he was able to reconcile it, but the fact that he was still responsible for even a portion of the debt put to him as a /minor/ is wild

[tsuyoi-hikari.livejournal.com]

He practically playing his real self in Coin Locker Girl. Its funny since I always thought that out of all his movie/drama roles, his role in CLG resemble him the most. Thinking that all this happened while he is filming and promoting the movie is just unreal.

Now it kind made sense when fans said he seemed to wear old but nice and clean clothes to university and ask him how he is taking care of his wardrobe. :(

I honestly thought his parents are the reasons why he grow up to be such a polite and fine gentlemen. Its bizarre to think he has such a unfortunate past behind that innocent smile.

[winegums.livejournal.com]

Now it kind made sense when fans said he seemed to wear old but nice and clean clothes to university and ask him how he is taking care of his wardrobe. :(

oh man, this just breaks my heart.

From what the news reports said, the loan sharks went after him p much as soon as he turned 18, i.e. when he wasn't even in uni yet. idt his parents teaching him good manners but at the same time dad potentially placing his 15 year old son as a guarantor on his loan, are necessarily mutually exclusive.

[tsuyoi-hikari.livejournal.com]

Yeah I agree. It probably mutually exclusive. It just that I just cant believe a parent who brought up their child with all the good qualities that Bogum possessed can use their kid's name as a guarantor to a loan shark. Doesn't his father has enough sense to know that loaning money from loan shark has never end up good for anyone? The interest rate itself is so crazily high and ridiculous for anyone to afford. :(

And he has like around 30mil left to pay for the debt. I feel bad for him. But I'm glad he managed to get over that phase and everything is over now.

[woohyun.livejournal.com]

omg i just finished watching coin locker girl and his characters dad owes money to people too....

[woohyun.livejournal.com]

I hate his dad :c pOor bogummy ;;;;;;;;

[kjc48.livejournal.com]

art imitates life. Hopefully he's in a good place now, and isn't co-signing anything anymore.

[pastelpinklace.livejournal.com]

This guys personal life is a mess

[carra-mia.livejournal.com]

That lone shark must be hella pissed now seeing what happend to PBG career after R88

[winegums.livejournal.com]

I'm so, so glad the debt was reduced BEFORE he got his Reply role, bb boy's Reply/CF money is safe!

[episkia.livejournal.com]

this takes on extra meaning after the airing of the most recent episodes of the youth series in africa. he had a ~deep and meaningful~ talk with joonyeol on top of the sand dunes, and the latter was saying that his father told him the thing he wanted to do the most was repay his debt - then wryly saying that they're not even a family with much debt (compared to others), but realising then that it had been a large source of stress for his father.

park bo gum then started crying saying what he wanted was a family picture to place on his mantlepiece.

i dunno man, these boys are very very precious

(joonyeol then took the cameras off the cameramen, saying that they should also enjoy the view if for a small moment -- he was saying how all people are the same, and they too would want to take pictures and send them to their family and really take in their surroundings ;;;)

[ah0000.livejournal.com]

Where can I watch with subs??? They sound like such precious boys irl

[episkia.livejournal.com]

ahhh i'm sorry!!! i watch these raw (best thing about being korean ahem) so i'm not sure where they'd be subbed ;___;

do watch it when you find subs though!!! i really liked the cast of the iceland crew, but i wasn't really captured by them the way i am with these guys.

[lydiasummer.livejournal.com]

damn i didn't know you can use an underage kid as a guarantor. what an irresponsible father smh

[lycorisc.livejournal.com]

i'm glad he got over that bleak situation in his life and is doing much better now

[atopworld.livejournal.com]

Sadly, lots of parents do this, and it's completely shitty. Ruins their credit and everything by the time they get old enough to have it.

I'm glad he was able to get everything squared away.

[iviih.livejournal.com]

He was like 16 years old? His dad ugh :(

[winegums.livejournal.com]

15 actually, he's a '93 baby (unless you meant 16 in Korean age)

idk if his dad actually put his name on the loan or the loan sharks just did it on their own and went after him once he debuted, but this poor boy really has suffered a lot.