Former Baseball Player Junseok Choi Reveals Scam Experience
"Deceived by Someone I Considered Family for 15 Years"
Former professional baseball player Junseok Choi has shared an update on his current situation, revealing that he is facing financial difficulties after falling victim to a building investment scam by an acquaintance, resulting in losses worth several billion won.
On December 21, Junseok Choi appeared on KBS 2TV's "Boss in the Mirror," where he said, "During the baseball season, I work as a commentator, and in the off-season, I also sell agricultural products."
On the show, Junseok Choi confessed that he was scammed out of more than 2 billion won by an acquaintance he had considered family for over 10 years. He said, "We had been like family for more than 15 years, but I was deceived. My acquaintance took the investment money and disappeared." He added, "I even checked the building. At the time, I thought, 'Surely this person wouldn't do this to me,' but I was wrong," expressing his disappointment.
Junseok Choi also expressed regret, saying, "My wife tried to stop me from investing, and if I had listened to her then, the damage wouldn't have been as great." He continued, "I secretly changed our rental apartment from a jeonse (long-term deposit lease) to a monthly rental. That's how I ended up in debt," and confessed, "I'm still living in a monthly rental because I have to pay off the debt first."
Junseok Choi expressed both his gratitude and guilt toward his wife. He said, "Many people know her as Junseok Choi's wife, but she is trying to help by working part-time jobs, and recently she even started working as a hospital coordinator. We almost ended up in court, but my wife endured and supported me, and now we are both working hard to get by," he shared.
Junseok Choi had previously spoken about being a victim of fraud on other broadcasts as well. After qualifying as a free agent, he signed a contract with the Lotte Giants in 2013 worth a total of 3.5 billion won (1.5 billion won signing bonus for four years, 400 million won annual salary, and 400 million won in incentives), and said that he received many investment offers from people around him.
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