Prosecutors sought an 18-month prison term for the 70-year-old mother of South Korean singer Jang Yoon-jung, identified only by her surname Yook, who is accused of defrauding an acquaintance of tens of millions of won.
Prosecutors made the request on the 27th at the first hearing of Yook's trial at the Seoul Eastern District Court, presided over by Senior Judge Suh Beom-jun of the court's second criminal division.
Yook is accused of taking 31 million won from an acquaintance in three separate payments between September 2024 and August last year, citing her daughter, a well-known singer, while presenting the money as an investment.
"She has a prior record of serving a prison term for fraud committed in a similar manner, yet she went on to commit this offense," prosecutors said in explaining their sentencing request. "The amount of damage is not small, and the loss has not been recovered." Yook was also detained in 2018 after failing to repay more than 400 million won borrowed from an acquaintance.
Yook's side acknowledged the charges at the hearing, saying she "deeply regrets" her actions, while pleading for leniency on the grounds that she "needed money for living expenses and credit card bills." In her final statement, she was in tears as she said she had "done a terrible wrong to the victim and to my family."
Songpa Police Station had earlier received a complaint from the victim and tried to track Yook's whereabouts, but could not locate her because no records of mobile phone or credit card use turned up. The investigation was suspended for a time as a result.
The court also noted separately, while reviewing written statements submitted at the hearing, that Yook "does not appear to have been cooperative with the investigation."
The verdict is scheduled for 2 p.m. on the 10th of next month.
