Directors, who were expelled from the Los Angeles Korean Festival Foundation and reinstated by a court ruling, have announced that they will hold a board meeting. The plaintiff directors, who filed the lawsuit, said they should not face any problems in holding the meeting as the defendants have not filed a motion for a stay of judgment on the first ruling.
According to the LA Korean Festival Foundation on October 7, Judge Curtis Kin of the Los Angeles County Superior Court served the signed first judgment order on the festival’s board of directors and defendants on October 2.
The three expelled board members had previously filed an administrative lawsuit against the festival foundation and the current board members, seeking to have their suspensions and expulsions invalidated.
In the order, the judge stated that the election of new directors (Alex Cha, Brandon Lee, and Ben Park) on January 23, 2023, the election of Alex Cha as Chairman on January 3, 2024, and the expulsion of the three former directors (Junbae Kim, Yunsook Park, and Ilsoon Choi) on January 3, 2024, are invalid.
According to the plaintiffs, the court’s ruling invalidated the election of the new generation of directors, including current Chairman Alex Cha. The four directors who were legally reinstated by the first court ruling are Jun Bae Kim, Yoon Sook Park, and Il Soon Choi, as well as Moo Han Bae, a defendant director. The plaintiffs claim that as directors of the festival foundation, they should have no problem holding a board meeting.
“The defendant (Alex Cha) filed a notice of appeal with the court on October 3, and the other two have not yet done so,” said Won Ki Lee, an attorney for the plaintiffs. “The defendant has not filed a motion to stay enforcement of judgment with the court, and therefore, we plan to normalize the board meeting as ordered.”
The defendant, Cha had previously stated that he would file a notice of appeal and motion for a stay of judgment within 60 days of receipt of the order.
The Court of California guides that a party to a lawsuit may file a motion for a stay of judgment within a specified time frame. The court also has the discretion to decide whether to proceed with a motion.
According to Lee, a motion for a stay of order to enforce a trial court judgment is heard by the trial court judge. The motion must specify the likelihood of success on appeal and the irreparable harm that would result from enforcing the judgment.
The defendants filed an appeal against the first court ruling and also stated that the current directors’ qualifications would be maintained until the final judgment. The defendants emphasized that they will continue to lead the current board of directors, including the suspended directors.
Alex Cha, the current chairman of the festival’s board of directors, said, “The filing of the notice of appeal triggers an automatic stay (of the court’s ruling), and the board can continue its business as usual. The other two directors (Brandon Lee and Ben Park) will also file their notice of appeal within 60 days.”
The plaintiffs’ attorney Lee argued that “there is no legal basis for the claim that the defendant’s filing of an appeal automatically stays the judgment.”
Yoon Sook Park, a member of the board from the plaintiffs, said, “We must follow the law,” and added, “If they had followed the principles, the problem would not have gotten so big. We are going to return to work and finish the foundation’s work as usual.” As for the possibility of reconciliation or compromise between the two sides, Park said, “There is no compromise. They should get what they deserve.”
BY HYOUNGJAE KIM, HOONSIK WOO [kim.ian@koreadaily.com]
