Actor Park Eun-seok in more hot water following reports he's being sued for defamation

Actor Park Eun-seok [ILGAN SPORTS]

Actor Park Eun-seok is reportedly being sued for defamation.

Park has already been at the center of controversy in recent days for habitually abandoning his pets.

According to local media outlet Ten Asia on Friday, a lawsuit was filed against the actor on Dec. 3 at the Seoul Northern District Court seeking damages of 5 million won ($4,470).

“Park distributed false information about me in a group chatroom of stage actors,” the plaintiff allegedly told the press. “Due to his [action], not only I but also my family was threatened, and I’m still suffering now.

“The way he’s responding to his dispute regarding the abandonment of his pets is so similar to the way he treated me,” the plaintiff said. “Park is saying that he isn’t being sued, but at present the suit has been completely filed.”

The ongoing dispute first came to light last month. Park is alleged to have distributed the plaintiff’s name and number in the chatroom along with claims that the plaintiff was posing as a casting director.

The plaintiff, who says they are “a senior colleague who attended the same university as Park and a casting director,” is reported to have approached Park's agency Hunus Entertainment demanding an apology and threatening that the matter would be taken to court otherwise.

The agency is said to have approached the plaintiff to settle the matter but delayed reaching an agreement for months, presumably because Park was cast for mega-popular SBS drama series “Penthouse” and “feared that he might be dropped from the series if [the production staff] knew he was being sued,” the plaintiff said.

At the time, Park’s agency, Hunus Entertainment, said that “it was a one-sided argument in which the truth [related to the matter] has not been verified,” and denied receiving a letter of complaint addressing the suit.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]