The court ordered the late Hara's ex-boyfriend Choi Jong Bum to pay restitution to the idol's bereaved family after it was acknowledged that his threat to her caused Hara to take her own life.

According to legal circles, on October 12, judge Park Min of the 9th independent civil affairs department of the Seoul Northern District Court ordered Choi Jong Bum to pay a total of 78 million KRW (~54,685 USD) to Hara's bereaved family.

Choi Jong Bum was sentenced to one year in prison by the Supreme Court in October 2020 on charges of assaulting and threatening the late Hara. Prosecutors further indicted Choi Jong Bum for threatening to spread private footage of Hara to the public, for threatening Hara as well as her former agency representatives to apologize, for damaging Hara's property, and also for violating digital sexual harassment/assault laws after police found photos of the late star taken without her consent but he was later found not guilty.

In the latest hearing, the court ruled that Choi Jong Bum's illegal actions, such as assault and threat, caused great psychological pain to Hara, leading her to make an extreme choice. The court stated, "Mr. Choi threatened Ms. Goo by saying he will release the sexual videos he had recorded so that she would not be able to continue her activities in the entertainment industry, bringing her shame through the sex tapes." The court explained Choi Jong Bum's threat must have caused mental anguish to the late Goo Hara.

The court added, "It seems that she had lost hope and motivation for the future despite achieving considerable success because she started working as a celebrity at a young age." Additionally, the court judged that Choi Jong Bum was aware of the fact that Goo Hara was going to make an extreme choice but continued with his illegal actions of threatening the idol.

The court ruled on this day, "Since it is seen that Choi Jong Bum's actions caused Goo Hara to make an extreme choice, he has caused considerable psychological pain to Ms. Goo's family as well."