Police ask for actor to be charged with rape

The police yesterday transferred a high-profile rape case against actor Park Si-hoo and one of his friends to prosecutors yesterday, asking them to charge Park with raping a 22-year-old woman at his apartment in Cheongdam, southern Seoul on Feb. 15.

The Seoul Seobu Police Precinct reported yesterday they handed the case over to the prosecutors against the 35-year-old actor with a recommendation that he be indicted without physical detention for twice raping the woman, whose identity has been withheld.

The police also accepted the accusation by the alleged victim that a younger friend of Park surnamed Kim sexually assaulted her as well.

“Consistent testimonies from the alleged victim led us to make this judgment,” said detective Yoon Tae-bong at the Seobu precinct. “Through three-party cross-examination and a lie detector test conducted by the National Forensic Service [on the victim and two suspects], we concluded Park and his younger friend should be legally punished,” said the official. “We concluded two cases of sexual intercourse [by Park] were done by force.”

The troubled actor, who recently starred in hit drama “Alice in Cheongdam-dong,” accused the alleged victim, an aspiring actor surnamed Lee, of colluding with his former manager to blackmail him.

The police said there was “no evidence to back that claim.”

Park’s defense team yesterday objected to the police decision.

“The complainant frequently changed her testimony when it would seem to work in her favor during the investigation,” said Park’s legal firm Purme in a statement released yesterday.

By Kang Jin-kyu, Min Kyoung-won [jkkang2@joongang.co.kr]