Singer Park Sung-mi, who had disappeared following a fraud scandal involving a traditional Korean savings scheme, has shared an update on her life.
On the 12th, the YouTube channel 'Exclusive World - The People of That Time' uploaded a video titled 'Park Sung-mi, Who Was Scammed Out of 300 Million Won in a Celebrity Savings Scheme'.
In the video, Park Sung-mi revealed that she has been living in the countryside with her husband, who is 10 years younger than her.
Discussing the 'savings scheme fraud', Park Sung-mi said, "I joined several savings schemes started by my favorite senior, Hye-eun. She took care of everything for me, but when her financial situation worsened, I ended up taking over her contributions, which led to my difficulties."
She confessed, "I should have stopped there, but I took out loans from secondary financial institutions and ended up losing several apartments I had bought. For 10 years, I couldn't do anything due to depression."
Suffering from severe depression, she admitted, "I often thought about leaving this world easily. I always had medication and a tool I used as a belt on stage by my side. If I had made that extreme choice, I wouldn't be here today," she shared candidly, evoking sympathy.
Having worked hard to overcome financial difficulties, Park Sung-mi has been running a folk art shop for seven years. She said, "I learned a lot by attending auctions and learning from elders how to appraise genuine antiques."
She also mentioned, "I haven't turned on the TV for 20 years, especially avoiding music programs. I feel guilty for leaving my role as a singer unfulfilled. Visiting the site of the Frog Boys incident brought back traumatic memories. I had to seek psychiatric treatment while contemplating how to live my life."
Meanwhile, Park Sung-mi is known for her efforts to help solve the 'Frog Boys' disappearance case in 1991 by creating a song titled 'Frog Boys' and working with the victims' parents.
Reporter Na-yeon Jo, Ten Asia nybluebook@tenasia.co.kr