SEOUL (Reuters) – A South Korean court on Friday issued an arrest warrant for the former fiance of an Olympic medallist over charges of swindling more than a dozen people out of 1.9 billion won ($1.4 million), news agency Yonhap reported, in a case that has gripped the nation.
Police had asked for the warrant to arrest Jeon Cheong-jo, who 2008 Beijing Olympics fencing champion Nam Hyun-hee last month told local media she had become engaged to.
Nam has since broken off her relationship with Jeon, media reports say. Jeon also told local broadcaster Channel A that he was still legally a woman who was transitioning to become a man.
Nam did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Jeon’s lawyers told reporters on Friday Jeon was cooperating with the police investigation.
In media interviews, Nam said Jeon claimed he was the New York-born heir to a South Korean hotel and casino conglomerate. Screenshots of text messages which local media said were sent by Jeon show him using a few English words, including “I am” to start off sentences, in an apparent attempt to support his story.
This has sparked several social media memes. Performer RM of K-pop group BTS posted a photo of himself on Instagram with a caption in Korean that started off with the English words “I am”, while some retailers have also used the meme in product advertisements.
($1 = 1,320.7400 won)
(Reporting by Hyunsu Yim; Editing by Josh Smith and Miral Fahmy)
