Ex-fiance of Olympic fencing medalist attends court hearing on arrest warrant

The former fiance of Olympic fencing medalist Nam Hyun-hee attended a court hearing held Friday to determine whether an arrest warrant would be issued for her on fraud charges.

Nam, the silver medalist in women’s foil at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, broke up with her fiance Jeon Cheong-jo, who is 15 years younger than her, last week, days after revelations that Jeon was legally a woman and had been convicted multiple times for fraud.

Jeon has since come under multiple fraud charges that she swindled money from people she had met during her private lectures, using the pretense of investment. She was also accused of instigating people to take out loans for investment in her favor.

Police have so far confirmed 15 people were swindled out of a combined total of over 1.9 billion won (US$1.4 million). The number of victims could rise further as the investigation continues, police officials said.

Covering her face with a baseball cap and a face mask, Jeon remained tight-lipped to a barrage of reporters’ questions as she was escorted out of a police detention room in Seoul on her way to the hearing at the Seoul Eastern District Court.

Speaking to reporters, Jeon’s lawyer said she is admitting to all her fraud charges and intends to cooperate proactively with the investigation.

Jeon also repeatedly said, “I am sorry to the victims,” according to the lawyer.

The court is expected to come up with a decision as early as Friday night.

The former couple instantly captured public attention last month following a media interview in which Nam introduced Jeon as her boyfriend and a third-generation scion of a family-owned conglomerate, saying they planned to get married.

But a flurry of skepticism and rumors had since emerged about Jeon’s background, with news outlets reporting that Jeon had been convicted of fraud several times, including swindling under the pretense of marriage. Jeon was also reported to be legally a woman and not affiliated with any conglomerate family or chaebol.

Police detained Jeon on Tuesday at the home of a relative in Gimpo, west of Seoul, and searched her apartment in a luxury residential building in southern Seoul and her mother’s home for evidence in connection with the fraud charges.