Unresolved Park Shi Hoo Scandal Case Moves To Mediation

One of the last unsettled cases associated with the recent Park Shi Hoo sexual assault scandal is headed toward mediation.

For the past five months the actor Park Shi Hoo has been trying to clear his name of charges leveled against him in February and to settle the lawsuits that resulted from the original charges. His promising career was put on hold while all these developments played out. And it has not yet recovered.

It all started in February when the "Cheomdamdung Alice" star was accused of sexual assault by a trainee actress named only as A. The couple had a few drinks with friends and she returned to his home at 2 a.m. He admitted they had relations but insisted they were consensual. She said that their relations were not consensual. She told police that she passed out and he assaulted her. She reported the actor to the Seoul Police Department. After investigating the case, the police sent it to the prosecutor's office.

In response, the actor filed charges against the actress and the CEO of his former management company. The actor claimed that the CEO, who spoke with trainee A, conspired with her to damage the actor's reputation. The CEO counter-sued.

Trainee A eventually dropped the charges against Park Shi Hoo without giving any public explanation, and the police withdrew their sexual assault indictment. As a result, the actor dropped his defamation charges against the actress. But when he tried to settle the lawsuit with his former management agency CEO that case was not so easily resolved. The CEO insisted on a personal apology.

The two men seemed unable to resolve their dueling defamation cases on their own so the CEO, Mr. Hwang, asked Corea Entertainment Management Association (CEMA) to help settle the defamation suit.

"We heard that Mr. Hwang proposed a settlement through CEMA," said a representative for Park Shi Hoo. "We believe that we are innocent and will follow whatever proceedings CEMA demands of us."

The actor is ready to move on and put this scandal behind him.

"There's nothing more we can do but follow CEMA's instructions, since he requested a settlement, saying he was wronged," said Park Shi Hoo's representative.

The actor is known for his roles in the dramas "Iljimae" and "The Princess' Man" and the 2012 film "Confession of Murder." The film was released in Japan after the scandal broke but the actor has made no public appearances.