"'Big Spender' Jang Young-ja Files Defamation Lawsuit Against Mrs. Lee Soon-ja"

Jang Young-ja at the time of arrest in 1994
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] Jang Young-ja, who committed a promissory note fraud worth thousands of billions of won by exploiting connections with high-ranking officials during the Chun Doo-hwan regime, has filed a defamation lawsuit against Lee Soon-ja, the wife of former President Chun Doo-hwan.

According to the police on the 20th, the Seodaemun Police Station in Seoul is investigating the case in which Jang filed a complaint with the prosecution against Lee for defamation through publications.

Jang claims that Lee defamed her in her 2017 autobiography "You Are Not Alone" by stating that "Jang Young-ja, the wife of my uncle, used my name to carry out fraudulent activities with my husband Lee Cheol-hee."

In her autobiography, Lee wrote, "In 1982, I heard a very strange story from a relative, about a woman who pretended to be one of my close aides and conducted a large-scale business," and "My husband (Chun Doo-hwan) reportedly received reports through the prosecution system and said that the Jang Young-ja couple actively disguised themselves as being under special protection from the highest authorities, especially the Blue House, to lure and reassure companies." She also stated, "I was a victim of the bold fraudulent activities of a woman I barely knew."

In response, Jang reportedly argued in her complaint that "(during the crime) she never mentioned Lee" and that the contents written in Lee's autobiography are false. Recently, Jang filed a defamation lawsuit based on false information with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. The case has been assigned to the Seodaemun Police Station in Seoul, which has jurisdiction over the former president's residence, and is currently under investigation.

In 1983, Jang was sentenced to 15 years in prison, the maximum sentence at the time, for promissory note fraud worth 700 billion won by exploiting special relationships with powerful figures, and was paroled in 1992 after serving time. Since then, she has repeatedly been imprisoned and released for various fraudulent activities.

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