Park Na Rae Spills On The Controversial “Early Morning Meeting” And The Shocking Aftermath
Amid the exchange of criminal complaints and accusations, Park Na Rae and her former manager A had a face-to-face meeting in the early morning of the 8th last month. Afterwards, Park Na Rae posted on social media, saying, “Misunderstandings and mistrust have been resolved,” but also stated, “I will suspend broadcasting activities until everything is settled.” However, A denied this by saying, “We did talk for three hours, but there was no apology or settlement,” which intensified the controversy.
Regarding this ‘early morning meeting,’ Park Na Rae revealed, “A even sent messages to lawyers asking, ‘What can I do to restore Na Rae’s honor?’”
– How did the conflict specifically arise after the former managers left?
“(From the former managers’ side) They claimed unpaid wages. They told me to decide on an amount, whether it was unpaid wages or even more. If it had been a straightforward settlement including an agreement not to raise any more issues, considering the hard work during the employment, I would have thought about making payments. I never said I wouldn’t pay any money. I only asked whether we both acknowledged that it was not actually unpaid wages.”
– What conversations did you have with A after they left?
“I kept trying to contact A after their resignation but couldn’t reach them. The wage arrears issue was not directly addressed to me during the resignation process, but was communicated to the tax team.
I asked several times to have even the dates of overtime work shown. The accounting team said it didn’t make sense to pay again for parts that had already been paid, but if the other party wished, we would receive the data, verify it, settle accounts, and make payment. However, a week later, the topic shifted to incentives, and a week after that, they demanded separate payments for settlement related to civil and criminal penalties. The final figure discussed was at least ₩500 million KRW (about $339,000 USD). Despite these ongoing demands, they claimed money was not the goal.
At the time, I wanted to ensure these friends received their severance pay. First, the company would pay the severance, and I was willing to personally provide additional compensation. But when I brought this up, the story suddenly changed. The other party said, ‘Let’s do it by law,’ adding, ‘If there’s a problem, I’m okay with going to jail.’ I disliked that situation and even told my lawyer not to pursue legal action.
Upon reconsideration, I debated whether I would feel more comfortable ending things by having the managers punished, or if it was better to bear all the dissatisfaction as a sister towards people I worked hard with for a year and three months. I chose the latter. However, after the so-called ‘early morning meeting,’ I said that if they wanted to proceed legally, I wouldn’t stop them.”
– What was the situation like on the day of the “early morning meeting”?
“That day, I was very tired. I think I was the one who called them first. A reporter contacted me first, asking if I was home. I was. Then the reporter told me A was nearby and wanted to meet me, so I called A. A was very drunk, crying aloud, saying they didn’t want things to turn out this way and didn’t know why it had. They cursed their lawyer and said they had no choice. We cried together, and since it was cold, I asked where they were. A said they were drunk and near my house.
I sent away the friends who were at my house and contacted A again. Although people advised against meeting, I wanted to, not to settle, but to hear A’s story fully and understand directly why they made such a choice. About 20 minutes later, the reporter said A was still waiting and suggested I contact them again. At year-end, a designer who was working on dresses was introduced to me through an acquaintance; the designer’s workspace and home were about 10 minutes from my house. A said they were there. Having nowhere else to go, A had knocked on the designer’s door and entered the workspace. Because the designer was male, I called him directly feeling uneasy. He said A was so drunk they couldn’t stand. I was cautious and thought it best to talk in the workspace, but A insisted on coming to my house, so I told them to take a taxi here. My manager who assists with my work also lives nearby and wanted to see A, so I cautiously invited them too. So, four of us met.”
– What was discussed there?
“A kept apologizing tearfully. I comforted A, asking why it had come to this. Some people joked it was like an ‘elementary school girl fight blown out of proportion.’
I said, ‘It’s true there was a heavy workload, and I know A and B worked hard,’ and asked, ‘Even employees who worked only three days get severance; even without a discussion, I had prepared it; why did you escalate things like this?’ A replied, ‘My lawyers told me to do this.’ I asked, ‘If you were hurt or upset, why didn’t you tell me? If I was wrong, why not say so?’ A said, ‘No, senior, you treated me very well; I’m sorry.’ I think A was also partly at fault, but it wasn’t the time to argue. I kept reassuring A and we ended up talking about trips we took.
At that meeting, I said that if this was abuse of power, then unknowingly I had accepted and trusted the kindness that A and B showed me and made requests based on that, so if that constituted abuse, I would admit it. A said, ‘That’s not true. The lawyers told me to say that.’
– There is also talk about going to a karaoke room.
“There is a karaoke machine at my house. We talked about songs A and I used to sing together, and A said they liked singing with me. However, since A was too drunk to stand, the manager and designer just had us talk sitting down. We hugged and sang, even reminiscing about a past trip to Japan.”
– Your statement said ‘misunderstandings and mistrust were resolved.’
“I did not discuss legal matters there. I asked them to say if I had done wrong, but A clearly said, ‘No, senior, you treated me very well, and I’m sorry it turned out like this.’ This was before the statement was released. When I said that if these uncomfortable issues continued, I would quit broadcasting, A said first, ‘Why do you have to quit? That’s ridiculous,’ and ‘I will go public with my face and do media interviews to restore your reputation.’ I said, ‘Thank you, but you are a private person and could get attacked if your face were known; let’s resolve this amicably between us.’ Then A sent a message in the group chat with lawyers asking, ‘What can I do to restore Na Rae’s honor?’ and said, ‘It went well.’ So I naturally thought it had been settled well. There is all the evidence.
That morning I posted the statement and was waiting for contact from A to meet. I thought maybe A overslept because they drank late. But then their lawyer sent a settlement proposal.”
– What was in the settlement proposal?
“They demanded a reply within about two and a half hours. As soon as I saw it, I thought I couldn’t accept it. They said what happened was false, and I must apologize for things that didn’t happen. The proposal included how much money they could give. They called the money unpaid wages, not a settlement. The settlement amount field was blank but described as unpaid wages. They didn’t want me to explain, and if I leaked this, I would have to pay ₩30.0 million KRW (about $20,300 USD) per statement. It said all my claims were lies and I had to pay their lawyer fees.
Seeing that, I felt I couldn’t let this go any longer. If I was wrong, I would accept punishment and apologize, but if not, I must correct it. I suggested talking without lawyers, but the other side said they would proceed legally first, so I agreed. I didn’t initiate this. I hate to say it, but it felt like a threat. After that, A said there would be no more settlement and legal action would be taken.
I wasn’t angry, just very empty. I had supported a drunk friend, helped them even vomit in the bathroom, and suddenly they sent this settlement proposal saying all this was true. It felt so hollow.”
– Reports mentioned that even after filing for attempted extortion, they tried to settle.
“Before the ‘early morning meeting,’ the former managers kept asking us to send a settlement agreement. We said, “We need to meet and talk directly, how can this be done with just a written paper?” but they said, ‘If you don’t send a settlement, we won’t meet.’ So we sent one, and they timed it and then complained, saying, ‘Even though you said you’d sue for extortion, you tried to settle,’ and made an issue of it.”
– What do you think their goal is?
“All paid wages and severance that should have been paid were paid. But the large sum they demanded, about ₩500 million KRW (about $339,000 USD) minimum, was not given. They told me to decide how much more to pay beyond that. Exasperated, I asked close acquaintances, and the conclusion was all about money. There was nothing more to resolve by talking with them; the only option was the legal route.
I kept trying to contact them several times, but it felt like I was the one who never answered. I got much help from A and B. The reason I said I didn’t want to pursue legally until the end was because I was very close with them, they were with me at my grandparents’ funeral, and cried with me. It was hard leaving my previous company, and I relied on them a lot. I tried to trust until the end. I thought misunderstandings might arise because many people were involved, so I endured and trusted, but it wasn’t the case.
They seemed to want to appear blameless while taking money and making me look like a bad person. Their stories don’t align. I tried to soothe their feelings and resolve things amicably, but that wasn’t accepted. Even after deciding to proceed legally, I found it hard to understand why only parts of the story were shared with the media.”
– What are your plans going forward?
“I have all evidence such as messages exchanged with the managers over three years to support my statements. I will pursue legal action.”
In addition to the early morning meeting, Park Na Rae addressed the accusations against her raised by the former managers, such as workplace bullying and embezzlement.
She also discussed the controversy related to the “injection auntie.”
Park Na Rae Directly Addresses The Mysteries Surrounding The “Injection Auntie”
