Former Agent Who Embezzled 200 Million Won Signing Fee from Ryu Hyun-jin's Ramen Advertisement Sentenced to Prison

Seoul Southern District Court Sentences Former Agent to 2 Years and 6 Months in Prison
Crime Committed While Mediating Advertising Model Contract with Ottogi

Former agent accused of embezzling part of baseball player Ryu Hyun-jin's (37, Hanwha Eagles) ramen advertisement contract payment was sentenced to prison in the first trial.

The Seoul Southern District Court Criminal Division 10 (Judge Son Seung-woo) sentenced Jeon Mo (50), who was indicted on charges including fraud, to 2 years and 6 months in prison on the 23rd, according to Yonhap News Agency. The court did not provide a separate explanation for the sentencing as the defendant did not appear.

Jeon was prosecuted on charges of embezzling part of the contract payment while acting as Ryu's agent in 2013, when he mediated the advertising model contract between food company Ottogi and Ryu. He was indicted without detention at the end of 2018 on charges of receiving $850,000 from Ottogi as the contract payment, then deceiving Ryu by claiming the contract was for $700,000 and pocketing the $150,000 difference. The amount Jeon embezzled was approximately 180 million KRW based on the exchange rate at that time. Jeon faces charges including fraud, forgery of private documents, and use of forged private documents.

A photo of player Ryu Hyun-jin during his time in Major League Baseball (MLB). Photo by Yonhap News.

Jeon denied all charges during the trial. Jeon's defense attorney stated, "We deny all the allegations," and argued, "We did not deceive the victim Ryu Hyun-jin and entered into the contract with Ottogi under a comprehensive power of attorney."

Jeon, a former baseball team interpreter, was deeply involved when Ryu advanced to Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States through the posting system (private competitive bidding) in 2013, and worked as an agent helping baseball players advance overseas. At that time, the Dodgers treated Ryu as a top-tier pitcher by signing a huge contract worth $36 million over six years (approximately 39 billion KRW at the time).

It is known that Jeon did not act as an agent after concluding Ryu's advertising model contract with Ottogi. Ryu was appointed as a model for Ottogi Jin Ramen in 2013 and worked for about two years.