KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A martial arts instructor, along with his businesses where the martial art Taekwondo was taught, faces a civil suit filed in Jackson County Court by two former female students who allege he sexually abused them.
A court document states the businesses operated under the name Pak's Academy since 1975 across the Kansas City metro area.
From 1975 through 2006, Yong Hwan Pak was the president and sole director of Pak's Academy and ran the business, including hiring employees, the lawsuit states.
Yong Hwan Pak hired Se Chun Pak in 1987.
Se Chun Pak was an employee of the business for nearly 40 years, working as a martial arts instructor and managing various locations of the business.
In 2007, he became president of Pak's Academy, the lawsuit states.
The suit states Pak's Academy promoted its business as appropriate for adults and children of all ages.
One of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit enrolled and trained at the Pak's Academy in Raymore.
The lawsuit claims that in 2024, while at the academy, Se Chun Pak "engaged in sexual intercourse with E.G., despite E.G. being a minor."
Se Chun Pak continued to solicit sexual contact with the girl from "approximately 2024 through 2025 at various locations," including the martial arts academy.
The second victim in the lawsuit enrolled "at least by 1990" at Pak's Academy in Grandview.
Se Chun Pak allegedly told the girl they were in a relationship when the victim was 13 to 15 years old, according to the lawsuit.
He bought the girl gifts on shopping trips and engaged in sex with the girl at the company's Grandview location.
The lawsuit claims employees, instructors and staff at Pak's Academy knew or should have known about the inappropriate contact and abuse.
Se Chun Pak is also charged in Jackson County Court with criminal charges that include two counts of statutory rape.
He is in the Jackson County Jail.
A trial on the criminal charges is scheduled for Feb. 8, 2027.
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