A woman in her 50s, surnamed Ko, known as a so-called Pig Mom, has been sentenced to prison in the first trial for swindling tens of billions of won through a Ponzi scheme, but her victims continue to suffer.
Victim A first received an investment proposal in 2016 from Ko, a woman she had known for over a decade after meeting in a parents' group.
Ko claimed, “There is a principal-guaranteed product that generates monthly returns of over 4 percent through my cousin, a multi-millionaire asset manager working at a major securities firm.”
Ko was a trusted figure among many parents, known as a Pig Mom who was well-versed in college entrance information while serving on school steering committees. When her husband’s business faced difficulties, A accepted Ko’s investment proposal to earn money.
A trusted Ko due to their long-standing relationship and even entrusted her with the proceeds from selling her home in 2024.
However, at some point, Ko began delaying payments, citing reasons such as, “My cousin’s company is undergoing an audit by the Financial Supervisory Service.”
Eventually, A was contacted by other parents who had also invested with Ko, and she realized that everything had been a lie.
A’s husband, feeling guilty for having made the decision to send money to Ko, took his own life.
Investigations revealed that Ko had swindled more than 28.4 billion won from 14 victims using a classic Ponzi scheme. In April, she was sentenced to 7 years in prison on charges including fraud.
It was discovered that Ko used approximately 3 billion won of the swindled funds for personal use, enjoying a luxurious lifestyle.
She was selected as a VIP customer at a department store—a status requiring annual spending of over 100 million won—for two consecutive years, and it was found that she purchased a luxury foreign vehicle with monthly installments of 4 million won.
Ko filed for bankruptcy three months after the investigation began.
Despite this, she hired lawyers from a major law firm and appealed the first-trial ruling.
It is reported that Ko stated during police questioning that she “covered the legal fees with credit card payments.”
The appellate trial for Ko is scheduled to resume on August 25.
Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video by Choi Kang-san | Graphics by Yook Do-hyun | Produced by SBS Digital News
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