[Update] Choi Jong Hoon admits to connection with senior officer, also links Yoo In Suk and Park Han Byul

Choi Jong Hoon was recently booked for his participation in the Jung Joon Young/Seungri group chat and also has alleged ties to the police department in connection with a DUI case that was discussed as covered up. As investigations into police corruption get more serious by the day, it was just revealed that a senior superintendent admitted a connection to Yoo In Suk (former Yuri Holdings CEO and group chat member), and now Choi Jong Hoon has admitted he had a connection with the officer of his own and talked about what exactly that connection entailed.

That’s a different stance from what Choi Jong Hoon had previously said publicly, of course. Before his questioning with police, he said he didn’t know who the police officer the group chat discussed was. But now he’s singing like a bird to the police, as he has implicated himself as knowing the senior superintendent named Yoon, what we already knew in Yoo In Suk’s connection, and also linked his wife Park Han Byul to all this.

SBS 8 O’Clock News revealed the extent of Choi Jong Hoon’s ties.

On the March 18 broadcast of the show, SBS reported that Choi Jong Hoon had talked with its production staff on March 2 through a phone interview to reveal his relationship with Senior Superintendent Yoon. According to the report, when Choi Jong Hoon was asked about Yoon, he replied, “Higher-ups in the police? That’s right. I think I know of some.” He then sent a photo of the Senior Superintendent to SBS. Choi Jong Hoon continued, “We’ve played golf together once. I heard that he was in the Blue House. He has experience being in the police.” In early 2018, Choi Jong Hoon, former Yuri Holdings CEO Yoo In Suk, Senior Superintendent Yoon, and Yoon’s wife had played golf together. Yoon, who served as an administrator at the presidential office of civil affairs at the time, and Yoon’s wife, a resident officer who worked in Malaysia, played golf with celebrities and businessmen. Choi Jong Hoon had also shared concert tickets with Yoon’s wife. He stated, “[His wife] lives in Malaysia with their kids. So when I had a concert in Malaysia, I gave her tickets. I also know Senior Superintendent Yoon’s wife’s phone number.” The concert tickets had been VVIP tickets worth 210 thousand won (approximately $186) and VIP tickets worth 150 thousand won (approximately $132). Choi Jong Hoon then mentioned Senior Superintendent Yoon and Yoo In Suk’s relationship, saying, “I think they’re very close. [Yoo] told me that [Yoon] is in the Blue House, so he’s very high ranking, and that I should take care of them when I give them concert tickets.” In response to this, Senior Superintendent Yoon stated, “We played golf and had a meal, but I didn’t have those requests.”

These guys are not like … criminal masterminds. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.

Either way, basically they expect us to believe that while they discussed the police taking care of unsavory instances for them in the group chat, mocked Korean law as easy to get out of trouble from, and admit to knowing each other closely, that they did not in fact help each other out regarding legal matters, essentially saying that they were just friends. Understandably, people are skeptical of that given their previous lies, and it seems like their stance is primarily just because no evidence has come out to the contrary yet.

Speaking of deception, Choi Jong Hoon exposed Park Han Byul as having known the senior superintendent as well.

It was revealed that Park Han Byul was also acquainted with Senior Superintendent Yoon, who was suspected of misusing his position to help cover up criminal activity in the celebrity chatroom controversy. The actress’s husband is Yoo In Suk, the former CEO of Yuri Holdings. This was disclosed by Choi Jong Hoon at his police questioning on March 16. He shared, “I played golf with Senior Superintendent Yoon, CEO Yoo, and CEO Yoo’s wife [Park Han Byul],” but he stated that he “[does] not remember who paid for the expenses.”

The number of times they played golf together appears to be fewer than 10. The police plan to further investigate whether or not Senior Superintendent Yoon received the [golf] expenses or was bribed [in another way].

Previously she had distanced herself from her husband’s mess saying that she had nothing to do with it, but that’s going to be harder to believe now that she’s a part of the story thanks to Choi Jong Hoon. Granted, playing a few rounds of golf with the guy isn’t a big deal and doesn’t mean she was intimately involved, but it at least has to make you a bit suspicious.

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Update

Park Han Byul has now delivered a statement about the report on Instagram.

First of all, I’m truly sorry for causing many people to worry due to the recent controversies, incidents, and suspicions involving my husband. While I was thinking that I can’t separate myself from the things that happened in the past of a person with whom I’ll be spending the rest of my life, just because they are irrelevant to me, I was being careful about what to say since the investigation is ongoing. I apologize. The reason why I’m continuing to film the drama in the midst of these controversies is because of the promise I made with many people such as the production company, the network, my agency, and more. Despite what has been aired so far, we are currently filming the last parts of the drama because filming begun last year. Because it is my duty to portray the life of Ma Ri (Park Han Byul’s character in “Love in Sadness”) without disturbing the flow of the drama until the end, I, as well as everyone who is thinking the same thing, decided to try our best until the end even though it may be hard, and [we are] filming with responsibility. While they should be focusing solely on the drama, many people are spending their time and thoughts worrying about me. Because I feel very apologetic for everything, and because I don’t want to cause greater trouble, I’m putting more effort into filming even though I’m suffering and going through tough times as if I’m dying. There is no other way to repay these grateful people. I think that life is a process of becoming mature and learning to straighten things out by going through various experiences while aging. I’m feeling responsible for all of the controversies, and no matter what results come out at the end, I will consider this as the process of guiding my family to walk the right path. After concluding this drama well, I’ll take time to look back at my life and try to live an honest life as a mother and a wife. Lastly, I sincerely thank everyone who is cheering on “Love in Sadness” and me. I bow my head and apologize once again for the many people who are criticizing me amidst these societal controversies related to my family.

That’s a lot of words to not say much, but basically she’s acknowledging the connection but maintains that she’s not actually involved.

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