Hong Joon-pyo: “I lost all 130 million won after being duped by a fellow lawyer ... I haven’t touched stocks since”

[Financial News]  Former Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo said he invested 130 million won after being deceived by a fellow lawyer, lost it all, and never touched stocks again.
On the 31st of last month, former Mayor Hong wrote on Facebook, “When I said I had never invested in stocks, I meant I had never bought a single stock listed on the stock market,” adding, “It meant I didn’t have enough spare money to invest in stocks.”
He continued, “However, around April 2000, during the DJ (Kim Dae-jung) administration, I once invested in a venture after being deceived by a fellow lawyer. It was a time of venture-investment fever, and I was told that an investment of 130 million won in shares of an unlisted company would grow tenfold. I persuaded my wife and invested, but lost it all and ended up with nothing.”
He said, “That lawyer reportedly swindled more than 5 billion won from lawyers in Seocho-dong, but all the lawyers who were duped were embarrassed to have others find out, so they kept quiet and let the matter end there. If word got around that a lawyer had been scammed, could they keep practicing law? I have never invested in stocks even once since then.”
Former Mayor Hong also expressed concern about the recent stock market. He said,  “The market has recently plunged, and retail investors are taking heavy losses, which is very worrying. AI (artificial intelligence) and semiconductors are booming, temporarily lifting the stock market, but I hope stock indexes will grow steadily in line with the real economy.”
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