Self-Proclaimed Wealthy Influencer, Dubbed 'Second Jeon Cheong-jo,' Disappears After Release; Police Issue Wanted Notice

[Anchor]

There is a case that has been dubbed the "second Jeon Cheong-jo." It involves a man in his twenties who posed as a wealthy woman to pull off luxury goods scams, which came to light through our exclusive report last May. At the time of the report, the man was already in prison for a separate fraud case, but he has recently gone missing after being released on probation, prompting a police manhunt.

First, we have this exclusive report by Kim Gyu-ri.

[Reporter]

A man in his twenties, surnamed Park, posed as a wealthy female influencer on social media, promoting luxury goods for sale at steep discounts.

Victims flooded forward, saying they were lured by prices set at one-tenth of the market value and sent payments, only to receive nothing for two years.

[SBS 8 News (May 11): This woman, who flaunted her wealth by showcasing a luxury officetel and supercars, turned out to be a man in his twenties. Victims noted that the case closely resembles the past Jeon Cheong-jo incident.]

In this case, which was brought to light by an exclusive SBS report last May, the number of confirmed victims has now grown to around 50, with total damages rising to 4.5 billion won.

At the time of the reports, Park was already detained in a detention center for a separate fraud offense—failing to pay over 100 million won after signing a contract to acquire the cafe where he worked.

[Cafe Staff: We couldn't get in touch with him either, so we thought he was sick. Turns out that wasn't the case.]

The police investigating the "second Jeon Cheong-jo case" gathered evidence through visits to the detention center and forwarded part of the case to the prosecution in early July.

The problem began on July 16, when Park was released after receiving a suspended sentence in an appellate trial for his previous fraud case.

Police applied for an arrest warrant for Park on charges related to the luxury goods scam, but Park vanished ahead of his pre-trial detention hearing scheduled for August 18.

Although the arrest warrant was issued following a review conducted without the suspect present, Park had already disappeared.

Regarding suspicions over why they did not rush to secure his custody, the police explained that Park had been cooperative after his release—attending summons with a lawyer, admitting to the charges, and stating an intent to compensate for the damages.

Police, who belatedly launched a manhunt, placed a travel ban on Park and issued a nationwide wanted notice for him yesterday (September 9).

(Video Editing: Lim Yeojin, VJ: No Jae-min, Design: Kang Yun-jung)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.