South Korean court sentenced Olympic fencing medalist’s ex-fiancee to 13 years in prison

Seoul, November 21 (IANS): A South Korean appeals court on Thursday sentenced the ex-fiancée of Olympic fencing medalist Nam Hyun-hee to 13 years in prison for defrauding dozens of people of more than 3.5 billion won ($2.5 million) under the guise of a chaebol heir.

The Seoul High Court handed down the sentence to Jeon Cheong-jo, 28, saying she continued to commit fraud even after being released from prison after serving time for previous fraud convictions, including posing as a man to date famous people. Yonha news agency reported.

The decision allowed the lower court to add another year to the 12-year prison sentence.

The court stated that a total of 35 people were defrauded out of a total of 3.5 billion won, adding, “A large portion of the money was spent on the purchase of luxury items, making it difficult to reverse the damage done to the victims.” he said.

The court also stated that “the risk of repeating the crime is very high.”

Jeon rose to fame last year when it was revealed that she was engaged to Nam, the silver medalist in the women’s foil at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, under the guise of a man claiming to be the heir to the Paradise Hotel chain. The couple later separated.

In September, Jeon was sentenced to an additional four years in prison for attacking and threatening Nam’s nephew, but the appeals court consolidated the two cases at Jeon’s request.

The prosecution had requested a 20-year prison sentence for Jeon.