Tag: fraud

It will be interesting to see if President Lee goes through with this threats to arrest people who are protesting against the ballot shortage in the recent election that denied people the ability to vote:

President Lee Jae Myung said Sunday that he accepts complaints about voting rights infringement over the unprecedented shortage of ballots in the recent local elections, but rejected claims of election fraud, arguing such claims skew the true nature of the issue.

Lee made the remarks during a meeting with his top aides held remotely from Rome, where he is visiting as part of a broader European trip.

Yonhap

Here is where he threatens protesters:

The protesters have demanded a re-run of the elections, while some argue the ballot shortages were part of a broad election fraud scheme.

The president dismissed such claims, calling them a distortion of the issue and an anti-social crime, saying those who commit such crimes must be held accountable.

“Spreading allegations of election fraud and (raising accusations of) election result manipulation are tantamount to distorting the essence of the matter and constitutes anti-social behavior that insults the precious voice of the people,” he said.

You can read more at the link.

It looks like Cambodia’s top export to South Korea will be deported South Koreans:

Dozens of South Koreans suspected of involvement in scam operations in Cambodia will be repatriated to Korea, officials said Thursday, in the largest overseas transfer of Korean scam suspects.

According to presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung, a pangovernmental task force formed to combat transnational crime has coordinated the return of 73 Korean suspects accused of defrauding 869 victims of approximately 48.6 billion won ($33 million).

The task force was established in October following a summit between President Lee Jae Myung and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

At least they caught her for voting twice, but it does make you wonder how much more of this is going on?:

A Seoul court on Sunday approved a warrant to arrest a woman suspected of voting twice during early voting last week, including once by proxy for her husband, a court official said. 

The Seoul Central District Court issued the writ against the woman, only identified by her last name Park, citing the risks of her destroying evidence and fleeing. 

Park, a contract worker at the Gangnam Ward Office’s health center, is accused of casting ballots twice, once using her husband’s identity, on the first day of early voting on Thursday. She cast her own vote five hours later. 

For the early voting period, she had been appointed to a post responsible for issuing ballot papers to voters.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

For an organization that has been facing accusations of voter fraud, so much so that it was one of the reasons former President Yoon tried to declare martial law, this is not a good look:

Police are stationed at the Gusinchon-dong community center where ballots were allegedly taken outside the polling station on May 29 in western Seoul. [JOONGANG ILBO]

On the first day of early voting for the 21st presidential election, dozens of ballot papers were seen outside a polling station in Seoul, sparking controversy and raising concerns regarding electoral integrity. 
  
The National Election Commission (NEC) acknowledged the incident Thursday and attributed it to administrative mismanagement.

According to the NEC and eyewitnesses, between 11 a.m. and noon Thursday, a number of people were spotted holding ballot papers and return envelopes outside the early voting site at the Gusinchon-dong Community Center in Seodaemun District, western Seoul. 
  
A high number of out-of-district voters caused congestion, outlets including Maeil Business Newspaper reported, leading some citizens to receive their ballots after verifying their identities and then wait outside the polling station before voting. The NEC estimated that around 30 to 40 people had received ballots and were waiting outside. 
  
Several witnesses reported seeing people walk around the neighborhood with their ballot papers. One staff member at a nearby university said the queue stretched roughly 30 meters (98 feet) when they visited during lunch. 
  
“I thought the envelopes in their hands were informational pamphlets, but they were actually ballot papers and return envelopes,” they said.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Lee tries to make the point that if there was election fraud how did Yoon win the last Presidential election? The argument from the Korean right is that election fraud occurred in the follow on Korean National Assembly elections because Yoon won the Presidency. This fraud allowed the Korean left to impeach government officials at will to stop Yoon’s agenda which ultimately led to Yoon’s failed martial law attempt:

Democratic Party (DP) presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung on Wednesday hit out at former President Yoon Suk Yeol for attending the screening of a documentary film on alleged election fraud. 

Yoon, who was ousted over his failed martial law bid and is standing criminal trial on insurrection charges, has claimed that allegations of election fraud were one of the reasons why he declared the martial law decree. 

Yoon, who left the conservative People Power Party (PPP) last week, made the first public appearance since his ouster on April 4, excluding his appearances at the insurrection trial, with the presidential election less than two weeks away. 

“Did he not win his own election through that system?” Lee told reporters during a campaign rally in Incheon, questioning the logic behind claiming election fraud.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Former President Moon Jae-in’s daughter is in trouble once again:

Moon Da-hye, daughter of former President Moon Jae-in, is under police investigation over fraud charges, officials said Tuesday.

The Seoul Seodaemun Police Station announced they had recently booked the junior Moon as a suspect in an alleged fraud case.

According to police, Moon is accused of not honoring a pledge to donate proceeds from a charity auction to a nonprofit. The auction took place in December 2022 at a gallery she ran at the time.

For the auction, Moon is said to have received works from about 30 artists and told them proceeds would be put to good use.

However, police received a complaint in October 2024 that money raised from the event had not reached the nonprofit.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link, but she was convicted last year for a DUI charge and running an illegal Air B&B business in Seoul.

The scammer behind one of the most bizaree crime sprees you will ever read about has been sentenced to 13 years in prison. I have to wonder if a Netflix true crime series about this weird case will be made?:

An appellate court on Thursday sentenced a former fiance of Olympic fencing medalist Nam Hyun-hee to 13 years in prison for swindling dozens of people out of more than 3.5 billion won (US$2.5 million) under the guise of a chaebol heir.

The Seoul High Court handed down the sentence to Jeon Cheong-jo. An appellate court on Thursday sentenced a former fiance of Olympic fencing medalist Nam Hyun-hee to 13 years in prison for swindling dozens of people out of more than 3.5 billion won (US$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 by disguising herself as a man in order to date famous people.

The ruling adds one year to a lower court’s sentence of 12 years in prison.

“Most of the money was spent on purchasing luxury items, making it difficult to reverse the damage to victims,” the court said, noting a total of 35 people were swindled out of a combined 3.5 billion won., 28, saying she continued to commit fraud even after being released from prison after serving time for previous fraud convictions, including by disguising herself as a man in order to date famous people.

The ruling adds one year to a lower court’s sentence of 12 years in prison.

“Most of the money was spent on purchasing luxury items, making it difficult to reverse the damage to victims,” the court said, noting a total of 35 people were swindled out of a combined 3.5 billion won.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.