Another Jeon Chung-jo on the Run... Victims Left Frustrated by Police and Prosecution’s Game of Catch

There is a case that has been dubbed the "second Jeon Chung-jo." It involves a man in his 20s who posed as a wealthy woman to commit luxury goods fraud, which came to light through our exclusive report last May. At the time of the report, the man was already in prison for another fraud case, but after being released on probation, he went off the grid, prompting police to launch a manhunt.

First, an exclusive report by reporter Kim Gyu-ri.

Reporter Kim Gyu-ri

A man in his 20, surnamed Park, promoted himself on social media as a wealthy female influencer selling luxury goods at a discount.

Lured by prices at a tenth of their market value, victims wired payments, but continued to wait for items that never arrived, with some waiting for up to two years.

[SBS 8 News (May 11): This woman flaunted her wealth with ultra-luxury officetels and supercars, but turned out to be a man in his 20s. Victims noted the strong similarities to the past Jeon Chung-jo case.]

In this case, unveiled by SBS's exclusive report last May, the number of confirmed victims has reached about 50, with total damages rising to 4.5 billion won.

At the time of the report, Park was already detained in a detention center for another fraud crime, having signed a contract to take over a cafe where he worked without paying out over 100 million won in funds.

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

Police investigating the "second Jeon Chung-jo case" proved his charges through visits to the detention center and forwarded a portion of the case to prosecutors 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 had applied for an arrest warrant for Park over the luxury goods fraud charges, but ahead of his pre-trial detention hearing scheduled for August 18, Park vanished.

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

Regarding suspicions over why they did not rush to secure his custody, police explained that after Park was released, he was cooperative by attending summons with a lawyer, admitted to the charges, and stated his intent to compensate the victims.

The police, who belatedly embarked on a chase, placed a travel ban on Park and yesterday (the 9th) issued a nationwide wanted poster.

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

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Upon hearing the news that the scammer had fled, victims anxiously flooded investigative agencies with phone calls. However, the police and prosecution merely passed the buck to each other. Ultimately, desperate victims took matters into their own hands and set out to find him themselves.

Next is an exclusive report by reporter Ahn Hee-jae.

Reporter Ahn Hee-jae

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

[Victim & Police Investigator (Call on August 19): (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 police argued that they had already handed over most of the victim cases, shifting responsibility to the prosecution and the court.

[Victim & Police Investigator (Call on August 19): In cases like Mr. ○○○'s, it's not my case. Ask the prosecutor where he is and tell them to catch him. The responsibility lies with the court that let him off with a three-year suspended sentence in the first place, and with the prosecution that failed to take action.]

The prosecution's explanation was somewhat different.

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

[Victim & Prosecutor's Office Investigator (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.]

Disappointed by this blame-shifting between the police and prosecution, victims went directly to Park's family, causing a commotion that brought police to the scene.

[Responding Police Officer (September 2): Since the law isn't doing its proper job, you have come out here directly to deliver justice ourselves, but you could still be punished for trespassing. The law can be so helpless at times like this.]

[Lim Seo-yeon / Luxury Goods 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 in the world to hide and escape. It makes you wonder why on earth we have to go out and hunt him down ourselves...]

When questioned by reporters regarding accountability, complaints arose within the police force asking why the prosecution had not acted proactively and claiming that prosecutors were turning a blind eye to livelihood-related crimes ahead of the implementation 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 non-detention referral case.

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