Impersonated as Lee Jaemyung Campaign Staff
Restaurant Owner, a May 18 Victim's Family Member,
Defrauded of 24 Million Won for Expensive Whiskey
The police have launched an investigation after a 'no-show scam' was reported, in which someone impersonated a member of the presidential campaign team for Lee Jaemyung of the Democratic Party of Korea, who attended the May 18 Democratization Movement commemoration event.
On May 21, the Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station announced that they had received a complaint from an individual identified as A, a restaurant owner, who claimed that a person impersonating a member of the Lee Jaemyung campaign had defrauded them of 24 million won. The police are currently verifying the facts of the case.
According to the police, on May 17, A received a phone call at their restaurant from someone claiming to want to reserve a dinner for Lee Jaemyung and his campaign staff for the following day. Since A is a bereaved family member of a May 18 victim, they believed the reservation was made intentionally and began preparations without suspicion.
However, on the day of the reservation, the caller claimed that Lee had specifically requested an expensive brand of whiskey and asked the restaurant to purchase it on their behalf. The caller provided a specific company account number and said, "The amount will be deposited immediately." Trusting this, A transferred 24 million won.
Afterward, the caller said, "Due to a schedule conflict, the dinner will be canceled," and then cut off all contact. A later confirmed that Lee could not have been in Gwangju at that time due to a scheduled debate, and subsequently filed a complaint with the police.
The police are currently tracking the flow of the funds transferred by A and are investigating whether fraud was committed.
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