Jeong Yura Denies Fraud at First Trial, Requests Release for "Raising Three Children Alone"

First Hearing on Fraud and Defamation Charges
Jeong: "I Admit to Defamation... Not to Fraud"

Jeong Yuyeon (formerly Jeong Yura), who was detained last month for failing to appear in court, denied charges of fraud at her first trial. She requested the court to allow her to stand trial without detention, citing that she is raising three children on her own.

On March 5, the Criminal Division 1 of the Namyangju branch of the Uijeongbu District Court held the first hearing on Jeong's fraud and defamation case. Prosecutors stated, "Ms. Jeong deceived the victim by promising high interest returns and received money transfers. She also defamed the victim through YouTube channels and other platforms."

Jung Yooyeon (formerly Jung Yura), daughter of Choi Seo-won (formerly Choi Soon-sil), a key figure in the so-called "state affairs manipulation scandal" during the Park Geun-hye administration. Yonhap News Agency

While Jeong admitted to the defamation charge, she denied the fraud allegation. Jeong's attorney said, "Since the defendant has partially repaid the amount, we will review the financial details and then clarify our position."

Jeong's legal team expressed a desire for her to stand trial without detention. She stated, "Due to issues such as incorrect delivery of the summons, I was unaware of the designated trial date," and appealed, "Please take into account that I am solely raising three children." Her attorney added, "The defendant's mother is also incarcerated, and she has no contact with her ex-husband following their divorce. There are no other adults at home to look after the children."

The next hearing is scheduled for March 17.

Jeong, the daughter of Choi Seo-won (formerly Choi Soon-sil), a key figure in the so-called "State Affairs Manipulation Scandal" during the Park Geunhye administration, was arrested on February 13 on fraud charges and has been held at Uijeongbu Detention Center. Initially, she had been indicted without detention, but after failing to appear in court, she was taken into custody.

Jeong is accused of borrowing large sums of money from an acquaintance, referred to as "A," on multiple occasions and failing to repay them. It is reported that from September 2022 to November 2023, she borrowed 698 million won from A, citing various needs such as lobbying funds for her mother Choi's pardon, legal fees for hiring attorneys, and her mother's hospital bills. She is also charged with defaming the victim on social media platforms such as SNS.

In August 2024, A filed a criminal complaint. The Namyangju South Police Station in Gyeonggi Province referred Jeong to the prosecution in March last year, and later, the Namyangju branch of the Uijeongbu District Prosecutors' Office indicted her without detention on fraud charges involving approximately 70 million won between August and September last year.

Despite continuing her activities on YouTube and other social media platforms, Jeong repeatedly failed to appear at hearings held at the Namyangju branch of the Uijeongbu District Court. Consequently, the court issued a detention warrant for her arrest. The court may issue a detention warrant if a defendant released without detention refuses to appear without just cause.

This is the first time Jeong has been detained. Her mother, Choi, was sentenced to three years in prison for facilitating Jeong's unlawful admission to Ewha Womans University during the 2016-2017 State Affairs Manipulation Scandal. Regarding the broader scandal, Choi was sentenced to 21 years in prison on charges including abuse of authority and bribery, and has been serving her sentence since 2016, now in her ninth year of incarceration. In January 2017, Jeong was apprehended in Denmark for illegal residency and extradited to Korea. Subsequently, prosecutors applied for an arrest warrant for Jeong on charges including admissions fraud at Ewha Womans University, but the court rejected the request.

In November last year, Jeong publicly solicited donations through her social media to support her mother's retrial. At the time, she appealed to her supporters, saying, "Why does my mother have to be imprisoned longer than a murderer for what she did?" and "We are fully prepared for the retrial and just need to file, but we have not been able to pay the attorneys' fees."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.