Suicide Actress 'Forced into Sex with 31 Influential Figures'

SBS 8 News has obtained 50 letters written by the actress Jang Ja-yeon suggesting she was forced into providing sexual services to 31 people on some 100 occasions. She wrote the letters to a friend from 2005 until her suicide in March 2009.

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The diary-like letters mention that she was frequently forced to entertain men at drinking parties or provide sexual favors since 2007, and reveal 31 names of figures from entertainment business, producers, financial executives, and journalists. She was apparently forced to service these men, whom she describes as "devils", on over 100 occasions.

She wrote that the CEO of her management agency, identified as Kim, threatened to sue her for breach of contract if she refused.

SBS 8 News said a handwriting expert confirmed that the letters are genuine. It called for a fresh investigation and raised the suspicion that the police tried to cover up the crime and closed the case prematurely despite knowing of the existence of the letters.

Jang's friend thought about handing in the letters to the police but decided not to because police did not seem interested in getting to the bottom of the case, it said.

Jang's suicide on March 7, 2009 sparked a scandal when her ex-manager Yoo Jang-ho revealed that she left a list of names of men she was coerced into providing sexual favors for.

Prosecutors announced their findings on July 10 the same year. Among some 20 figures investigated by police, seven were prosecuted. The Seongnam branch of the Suwon District Court on Nov. 12 last year sentenced Kim and Yoo to one year in jail, two years of probation and 160 hours of volunteer work.