‘Fraud Allegations’ Former Cheongjo Transferred in Custody: "Sorry to the Victims"

Continued Confrontation Investigation with Nam Hyun-hee

Former fencing national team member Nam Hyun-hee (42), who was known to be remarried to Jeon Cheong-jo (27), has been handed over to the prosecution on charges of fraud. Future confrontation investigations between Nam and Jeon are scheduled to take place at the detention center where Jeon is held.

At 7:36 a.m. on the 10th, Jeon, who came out of the Seoul Songpa Police Station for prosecution transfer, responded to reporters' questions such as "Is it true that you conspired with Nam?", "Did Nam, sponsored by the Fencing Association, propose this?", "Nam says everything is a lie, do you have a position on that?", "Do you want to refute Nam's claims?", and "Do you have anything to say to the victims?" by saying only "I am sorry to the victims" before getting into the escort vehicle.

The police transferred Jeon to the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office on the same day on charges of fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. So far, the police have confirmed 23 victims, with damages amounting to over 2.8 billion won. Jeon is accused of receiving money from multiple people under the pretext of investment funds and embezzling it or inducing them to take out loans.

On the 8th, the police also summoned Nam, who was suspected of being an accomplice, as a suspect and investigated her for about 13 hours. The main issue during the first confrontation interrogation with Jeon was whether Nam was aware of Jeon's crimes and whether she conspired in the crimes. Nam was jointly accused as an accomplice in one of the complaint cases filed against Jeon. The complainant was a parent of a student attending Nam's fencing academy in Gangnam, Seoul, and participated in the confrontation investigation. Jeon's lawyer said after the investigation, "The victim testified that Nam was fully aware of Jeon's crimes and conspired with him," and "Jeon gave a similar statement."

Nam completely denies the suspicion of being an accomplice in the fraud. On her social media (SNS), Nam expressed her frustration, saying, "I was deceived by Jeon, who was false in everything except the name." Nam's lawyer said, "We will submit the phone that Nam has been using continuously since before meeting Jeon, the phone Jeon bought, and two of Nam's laptops without deleting anything and with passwords unlocked," and added, "We expect the police to accurately verify what has happened so far."

Earlier, the Seongnam Jungwon Police Station in Gyeonggi Province transferred Jeon to the prosecution on the 9th on charges of violating the Stalking Punishment Act, the Child Welfare Act (child abuse), and intimidation. Jeon is accused of repeatedly knocking on the door of Nam's mother's house after being notified of the breakup by Nam on the 27th of last month, and hitting Nam's nephew about 10 times with the handle part of a children's golf club on August 31. Jeon was also non-custodially indicted in April for deceiving a man she met through a chat application last year by claiming she was "pregnant" and extorting money from him.