Golf legend Pak Se-ri openly talks about controversies over her father’s debts

Golf legend Pak Se-ri held a press conference at the Galaxy Hall of the COEX Center in Seoul on June 18 and spoke directly about her recent legal dispute with her father. In September of last year, the Seri Pak Hope Foundation filed a complaint with the Daejeon Yuseong Police Station against her father, Pak Joon-chul, in September last year on charges of forgery of private documents, which was recently revealed. Since then, various controversies have arisen regarding his debts.

Kim Kyung-hyun, a legal representative of the foundation, said, "We distributed press releases regarding the forgery of private documents and the complaint of counterfeit documents, but some of the facts are being over-interpreted or speculated," adding, "Therefore, we decided to hold a press conference to inform the exact facts."

At the press conference, Pak’s side revealed a document with a forged seal and claimed, "Before the lawsuit was filed, the Saemangeum Development Administration contacted us to confirm the authenticity of the 'Letter of Intent for Saemangeum Tourism and Leisure Land Development Project' that the foundation had submitted. The foundation first realized that the document and seal in the name of the foundation were forged and submitted after receiving a call from the development agency."

According to the Seri Pak Hope Foundation, it is a non-profit foundation corporation based on the legendary golfer’s tangible and intangible assets, and according to its articles of incorporation, it is not allowed to establish and operate domestic or foreign schools. Therefore, her position is that the plan to establish a Pak Seri International Golf School, which her father claimed, is not true and that the foundation was not involved.

"It's been like this for quite some time," said Pak, who held the microphone during the Q&A session. "As a father and daughter, I think any situation can happen like any other family. However, the problem has grown to a point where it cannot be solved. There are not a few things," she said with a sigh. "I lived abroad for a long time. After I retired and started my personal life, I saw a lot of things come to the surface. When I resolve a debt issue, another one comes up, and problems become bigger and bigger, leading to the current situation." Regarding the controversy over the auction of her home, which was made public through a TV entertainment program, Pak clarified, "I changed the name of the house to my own name through various processes, and the auction is not currently taking place.” She added, “I have not spoken to my father at all since this incident.”

Regarding the reason for holding the press conference, Pak said, "The Seri Pak Hope Foundation is an organization established to support promising kids," adding, "I stood here because I was afraid that it would have a small impact on them."

When the press conference was over, Pak burst into tears and said, "My family was actually everything to me, but I opposed (my father's opinions). I have never agreed. However, I had no choice in all of this. I am deeply sorry that this has happened." She added, "I have held many press conferences. It has always been about good things. However, the direction that I have to go is set. In order to do what I want to do, I think I need to definitely separate what I can do and what I can no longer do.”

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.