"Jo Seong-eun with luxury car has not repaid 100 million won of public funds for years"

Office of Assemblywoman Yang Geum-hee Analyzes Data Submitted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups
"Thorough Government Follow-up Measures Needed for Debt Collection, etc."

Cho Sung-eun, former vice chairman of the Future United Party (now the People Power Party) election committee, who revealed himself as the whistleblower in the allegation of instigating the prosecution of ruling party figures through the opposition party, appeared on JTBC Newsroom on the afternoon of the 10th, presenting evidence submitted to investigative agencies. / Photo by JTBC

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Allegations have been raised that Cho Seong-eun, the whistleblower in the so-called 'report scandal,' borrowed government funds amounting to hundreds of millions of won through her own companies but has not repaid them.

According to an analysis of data submitted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups on the 24th by Yang Geum-hee, a member of the National Assembly's Industry, Trade, Energy, Small and Medium Enterprises Committee (SanJaWi) from the People Power Party, Cho received a government loan of 70 million won in April 2015 through 'The World Creators' (now Almighty Media), and 100 million won in October of the same year through 'Palgeumhwang' (now Diplo Company).

Cho is the CEO of both companies. Of the total government-supported loan amount of 170 million won, Cho repaid 8.75 million won, which was part of the startup support funds received by The World Creators. As a result, approximately 160 million won in debt remains outstanding.

Regarding this, Representative Yang stated, "It is difficult to understand the behavior of living a luxurious life with expensive cars and houses while not repaying government-supported loans for several years," and added, "Thorough follow-up measures by the government, such as debt collection, are necessary."

Cho recently attracted attention by posting photos of luxury cars on her social media (SNS). In April, she posted a photo of a parked Maserati with the caption "May is together," and a month later in May, she posted a photo of the car being washed along with the comment, "On a rainy day, when the car came in, I couldn't believe it, so I heavily armed myself and went to a self-service car wash. I sweated and worked hard to achieve the mirror-like shine I saw in the commercials."

The Maserati posted by Cho is a high-priced imported car valued between 130.1 million won and 180.5 million won as of this year. However, it is not known whether the vehicle posted on her SNS is owned by her or is a rental car.

In response, Cho recently told the JoongAng Ilbo in an interview, "Isn't it natural to drive a luxury imported car when you can afford it?" and added, "For a young woman like me to do business, an appropriate appearance is necessary."

Meanwhile, Cho entered politics in 2014 by joining the New Politics Alliance for Democracy, the predecessor of the Democratic Party of Korea. She moved to the People's Party in 2016 and joined the United Future Party last year, serving as vice chairman of the election campaign committee during the general election.