"In a romantic relationship with Lee Dong-wook, even talks of meeting parents"... It turns out Lee Jung-jae also fell victim to this romance scam [Star Issue]

*This content was translated by AI.

A case has been reported where an individual impersonating actor Lee Dong-wook approached a fan, pretended to be in a romantic relationship, and defrauded her of tens of millions of won.

Last Tuesday, the 16th, SBS's 'News Hunters' revealed the victimization case of 30-year-old woman A, who has been a long-time fan of Lee Dong-wook and also worked as an extra.

Woman A stated that she had been exchanging messages via mobile messenger with the impersonator for about eight months. The person expressed affection toward her and even mentioned marriage, leading her to believe they were in a real romantic relationship.

The impersonator, aware that Woman A worked as an extra, offered advice on acting life while continuously expressing affection. "Lee Dong-wook essentially confessed his feelings to me," she claimed. "He even suggested we visit my parents together and have a formal meeting between families. It naturally developed into a romantic relationship." She further asserted, "It seemed like he had set his sights on me as his future spouse."

The problem began when the impersonator started demanding money. He showed photos of gifts worth hundreds of millions of won that he supposedly sent, then claimed items shipped from abroad were held by customs and demanded payment for clearance fees and storage costs.

Woman A even cashed out her savings account and supplemented her living expenses to transfer a total of approximately 35 million won, but ultimately received no money back. It was reported that the impersonator required different bank accounts for each transfer, citing the need to avoid exposure of his celebrity identity.

Lee Dong-wook's agency, KingKong by Starship, issued a warning about impersonation incidents through its official SNS. The agency clarified that neither the artist nor the agency requests money or personal information through any private accounts for any reason.

Romance scams involving impersonation of celebrities also occurred in a case involving Lee Jung-jae. Last October, it was reported that a group impersonating Lee Jung-jae approached 50-year-old woman B via SNS and defrauded her of approximately 500 million won.

At the time, the impersonators reportedly deceived the victim using AI-generated photos of Lee Jung-jae and forged identification documents. They induced transfers by claiming they could meet Lee Jung-jae in person. When the victim expressed suspicion or refused, they continued to demand money under the guise of their romantic relationship. It was reported that woman B transferred hundreds of millions of won over a period of about six months.

As the controversy spread, Lee Jung-jae's agency, Artist Company, also issued an official statement urging caution. The agency emphasized that crimes involving impersonation of its artists to demand money or seek economic benefits have occurred, and stressed that neither the agency nor the individual artist requests money, bank transfers, donations, or similar actions.

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*This content was translated by AI.