'I am SOLO' Female Contestant Sells Necklace for 2.2 Million Won, Turns Out to Be Fake...'Never Said It Was Real'

[Financial News]  ENA·SBS Plus program 'I am SOLO' (hereafter referred to as I am SOLO) is embroiled in controversy as claims have been made that a female contestant sold a fake luxury necklace at a charity auction.

On the 28th, JTBC's 'Incident Manager' introduced the story of informant A, who attended a birthday party and charity auction event of the I am SOLO female contestant at the end of February.

Informant A learned about the birthday party and charity event of the I am SOLO female contestant B through social networking services (SNS) and participated in the event out of fandom.

At the event, B put luxury bags and accessories up for auction to support single-parent families, and A won a luxury brand necklace for 2.2 million won.

However, about a month later, A received a DM (direct message) from another participant who attended the same event, stating "the necklace was fake." The participant who sent the DM was also known to have won a bracelet from the same brand for 1.4 million won at the event.

A requested an appraisal of the necklace, and it was revealed to be a 'fake.'

According to the appraiser, the necklace was indeed made of 18K gold but was not a genuine brand product, just ordinary jewelry. The appraised value was about 1 million won, indicating that A paid more than twice the regular price. The bracelet was also reported to have an appraised value of only about 700,000 won.

Upon confirming it was fake, A demanded a warranty, product case, etc., from B, but B explained, "The necklace was purchased at a jewelry store, there is no case, but there is a warranty."

However, later B told A, "You can't buy a genuine one for that price. If you return the item, I will refund you," and added, "I never said it was genuine at the charity event."

A said, "The contestant, who usually flaunted wealth, wore the product several times on the show, so I naturally thought it was genuine," and lamented, "I wouldn't have bought it if I had known it was fake beforehand."

A and the bracelet buyer sued the female contestant for fraud, and the case has been forwarded to the prosecution, while the bracelet buyer's case is reportedly under police investigation.

B reportedly responded to the Incident Manager's request for comment by saying, "Tell me who the informant is," and "I will pass it on to my lawyer."

Lawyer Son Suho, who encountered the story, diagnosed, "Making a fake is also a problem," and "If you bought a fake and then sold it as if it were genuine, it could be fraud." He added, "Initially, who made, sold, and bought it, and how it was bought and sold through the auction process are all simultaneously problematic."

newssu@fnnews.com Kim Suyeon Reporter