Daughter of Choi Soon-sil, Jeong Yu-ra, Arrested After Being Wanted and Sent to Uijeongbu Prison

[Financial News] Jeong Yu-yeon (formerly Jeong Yu-ra), the daughter of Choi Seo-won (formerly Choi Soon-sil, 70), has been taken into custody after repeatedly failing to appear in court for her fraud trial.
According to the Korea Correctional Service under the Ministry of Justice on the 19th, Jeong was arrested on the 13th and is now being held at Uijeongbu Prison. Uijeongbu Prison houses not only convicted inmates serving finalized sentences but also pre-trial detainees whose cases are still ongoing.
The court is understood to have issued an arrest warrant for Jeong after she failed multiple times to appear for trial without a legitimate reason.
Jeong is accused of borrowing about 698 million won from an acquaintance on several occasions between November 2022 and September 2023, saying she needed money for her mother Choi’s pardon and other purposes, and then failing to repay it.
The acquaintance who lent her the money stated, "Jeong said she needed the funds for lobbying for her mother’s pardon, as well as for medical expenses and attorney’s fees, but in reality she used the money for personal purposes," and filed a criminal complaint with the police in August 2024.
Namyangju Nambu Police Station in Gyeonggi Province referred Jeong to the prosecution on fraud charges in March last year. The Namyangju Branch of Uijeongbu District Prosecutors' Office concluded that part of the amount, in the range of 70 million won, constituted fraud and indicted her without detention around August to September last year.
From November last year to the end of January this year, Jeong failed to appear for three scheduled hearings without just cause. During this period, she continued her activities on social media and YouTube, yet repeatedly did not attend court.
In response, the court issued a summons for Jeong and asked the police to track down her whereabouts to secure her appearance. However, she reportedly did not comply and went into hiding.
Finding a risk of flight, the court issued an arrest warrant ex officio. After that, Suseo Police Station in Seoul placed her on a wanted list and tracked her down, eventually arresting her and handing her over to the prosecution.
Jeong is currently being held at Uijeongbu Prison following the execution of the arrest warrant.


moon@fnnews.com Moon Young-jin Reporter