Jeon Cheong-jo, who posed as a wealthy individual and defrauded over 3 billion won from former fencing national team member Nam Hyun-hee, has been revealed not to have undergone gender reassignment surgery.
The MBC Every1 entertainment program 'Hidden Eye', which aired on the 12th, covered the bizarre scam of the notorious con artist Jeon Cheong-jo, whose life was filled with lies except for his name.
Before meeting Nam Hyun-hee, Jeon Cheong-jo was sentenced to 2 years and 3 months in prison in 2020. The broadcast revealed instances where he deceived other inmates for fraud during his incarceration.
Profiler Kwon Il-yong stated, "Jeon Cheong-jo's fraudulent activities were beyond imagination," adding, "He pretended to be pregnant to receive better treatment while comfortably living with other con artists in prison."
Additionally, it was shocking to learn that he maintained a pen-pal relationship with a male inmate while also dating a foreign female inmate in a women's prison.
After his release, Jeon Cheong-jo met Nam Hyun-hee at a fencing academy, and their relationship developed into a romantic one, with the couple announcing their marriage in August 2023.
At that time, Jeon Cheong-jo claimed he was born in the United States, had lived there for a long time, specialized in horseback riding in New York, and had been active as an equestrian athlete. He also mentioned running an arts and sports education business and an IT (information technology) business both domestically and internationally.
However, after their marriage announcement, photos of the couple were released, sparking controversy over Jeon Cheong-jo's gender. Ultimately, it was revealed that Jeon Cheong-jo was not a man but a woman, and the claims of being a 'third-generation chaebol' with '51 trillion assets' were all false.
Kwon Il-yong stated, "When Jeon Cheong-jo first went to learn fencing from Nam Hyun-hee, he claimed to be a woman," adding, "He said he was born male but had a physical structure that was wrong. He claimed to have undergone a testicle transplant surgery at the age of 25."
When Kim Dong-hyun asked, "Is testicle transplant surgery medically possible?" Kwon Il-yong replied, "It is impossible with modern medical technology."
Kwon Il-yong also revealed the decisive reason why Nam Hyun-hee believed Jeon Cheong-jo, stating, "There were positive results from over 20 pregnancy tests," and added, "It turned out that what Jeon Cheong-jo gave Nam Hyun-hee was a toy pregnancy test that showed two lines with just tap water."
The issue of whether Jeon Cheong-jo underwent gender reassignment surgery was also disclosed. Kwon Il-yong stated, "It has been medically confirmed that he underwent breast removal surgery. He claimed to be receiving hormone injections, but he has never undergone gender reassignment surgery," and added, "Seeing him switch between male and female, it seems he is falsifying his gender out of necessity for his fraudulent methods."
Meanwhile, Jeon Cheong-jo, who was indicted on charges of fraud under the Specific Economic Crimes Aggravated Punishment Act, was sentenced to 13 years in prison in the second trial last November. He did not file an appeal, thus the verdict was finalized. Nam Hyun-hee, who was suspected of being an accomplice, was cleared of suspicion as the police concluded there was 'no evidence of wrongdoing.'
[Lee Da-kyum, Star Today Reporter]
