A female participant from ENA·SBS Plus’s ‘I’m Solo’ is embroiled in controversy after allegations surfaced that she sold ‘fake luxury goods’ at a charity auction event.
On the 28th, JTBC’s current affairs program ‘Incident Manager’ introduced the story of a whistleblower, referred to as A, who attended a charity auction event hosted by a female participant from ‘I’m Solo’ in February and ended up winning a fake luxury necklace.
According to A, the event was held to support single-parent families, and the participant auctioned off luxury bags and accessories. A learned about the event through social media and, resonating with the good cause, won a necklace from a famous luxury brand for 2.2 million won.
However, about a month later, A received a direct message from another participant who purchased a bracelet from the same brand at the same event for 1.4 million won, stating that “the product was fake.” A immediately commissioned an appraisal of the necklace, which turned out to be a counterfeit.
According to the appraiser, while the necklace was indeed made of 18K gold, it was not a genuine brand item but rather a piece of ordinary precious metal. The appraised value was around 1 million won, meaning A paid more than double the market price.
After confirming it was a fake, A requested a certificate and product case from the participant, who explained, “I bought the necklace from a gold shop, and while I don’t have the case, I do have a certificate.” The participant also claimed, “You can’t buy a genuine item for that price. If you return the item, I will refund you,” and stated, “I never said it was genuine during the charity event.”
A and the bracelet purchaser have filed a lawsuit against the participant for fraud, and A’s case has been forwarded to the prosecution. A expressed, “I thought it was genuine since the participant often flaunted wealth and wore the product on the show multiple times. If I had known it was a fake, I wouldn’t have purchased it.”
The participant only stated to the ‘Incident Manager’ team, “Please let me know who the whistleblower is. I will pass it on to my lawyer,” without providing any specific explanation.
[Lee Da-kyum, Star Today Reporter]
