Missed 'Second Jeon Cheong-jo' Goes on the Run... Victims Left Venting Amid Blame Game

〈Anchor〉

There is a case that has been dubbed the "second Jeon Cheong-jo." It involves a man in his 20s who posed as a wealthy female entrepreneur to pull off luxury goods scams, which was brought 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 now vanished after being released on probation, prompting a police manhunt.

First, exclusive reporting by reporter Kim Gyu-ri.

〈Reporter Kim Gyu-ri〉

A man in his 20s, identified by his surname Park, promoted himself on social media as a wealthy female influencer and advertised luxury goods at bargain prices.

Lured by prices a tenth of the market value, victims sent payment, but reports continued to emerge from those who had not received their items even after two years.

[SBS 8 News (May 11): This woman, who flaunt her wealth by showcasing ultra-luxury officetels and supercars, turned out to be a man in his 20s. Victims noted that the case closely resembles the past Jeon Cheong-jo incident.]

In this case, first brought to light by an exclusive SBS report last May, the number of confirmed victims has reached about 50, with total damages mounting to 4.5 billion won.

At the time of the report, Park was already incarcerated in a detention center for a separate fraud crime, in which he signed a contract to take over a cafe where he had been working and failed to pay over 100 million won.

[Cafe Employee: We couldn't get in touch with him either, so we thought he was sick. That turned out not to be the case.]

The police investigating the "second Jeon Cheong-jo case" proved the charges through visits to the detention center and forwarded a portion 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 the appellate trial for his previous fraud case.

The police applied for an arrest warrant for Park on luxury fraud charges, but Park disappeared ahead of his pre-trial detention hearing scheduled for August 18.

Although the arrest warrant was issued during a review held without the suspect present, Park had already vanished.

Regarding suspicions over why they did not rush to secure custody, the police explained that Park had been cooperative after his release, appearing for summons investigations with a legal representative, and had admitted to the charges while expressing an intent to compensate the victims.

The police, having belatedly launched a pursuit, placed a travel ban on Park and issued a nationwide wanted poster yesterday (the 9th).

(Video Editing: Lim Yeojin, VJ: Jaemin, Design: Kang Yun-jung)

---
 

〈Anchor〉

Upon hearing the news that the scammer had fled, anxious victims immediately called investigative agencies. However, the police and prosecution merely passed the buck to each other. Ultimately, desperate victims even set out to track him down themselves.

Continuing with exclusive reporting by reporter An Hee-jae.

〈Reporter An Hee-jae〉

Shocked by the news that Park, whom they thought was still in prison, had escaped, victims called the police officer in charge of the case, only to receive absurd responses.

[Victim-Police Investigator (Phone call on August 19): (What if he runs away, what if he smuggles himself out of the country?) .... What can we do about smuggling? What can we do about smuggling?]

The officer claimed they had already handed over most of the victim cases, pointing the finger instead at the prosecution and the courts.

[Victim-Police Investigator (Phone call on August 19): As for ○○○'s case, it's not my case. Ask the prosecutor where he is and catch him. The responsibility also lies with the court that let him off with a three-year suspended sentence in the first place, and the prosecution that failed to take action.]

The prosecution's explanation differed somewhat.

They bounced the ball back, stating that it was the police who had obtained the arrest warrant for Park.

[Victim-Prosecution Official (Phone call on September 1): Because it's a separate case, it has nothing to do with us right now. The police officer probably knows better than anyone.]

Frustrated by the police and prosecution passing the buck back and forth, victims went directly to find Park's family, which led to a commotion and police dispatch.

[Dispatched Police Officer (September 2): Since the law isn't doing its proper job, you have come to implement justice yourselves, but you could still be punished for trespassing. The law can really be like this at times...]

[Lim Seo-yeon, Luxury Purchase Fraud Victim: It felt like a game of ping-pong, with each side trying to dodge responsibility. They were saying 'it's not us,' 'it's not us either'... They gave him all the time to hide, all the time to run away. It makes you wonder why on earth we have to go out and catch him ourselves...]

When questioned by reporters regarding where responsibility lies, some voices within the police complained about why the prosecution had not stepped in actively, claiming the prosecution was turning a blind eye to livelihood crimes ahead of the enforcement of the revised Criminal Procedure Act. Meanwhile, a prosecution official maintained a principled stance, stating that since Park was originally an incarcerated suspect, they were investigating according to procedures based on a case forwarded without detention.

(Video Editing: Kim Jin-won, VJ: Jaemin, Design: Yang Gi-tae, Kim Min-young)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.