South Korean court sentences ex-fiance of Olympic fencing medalist to 13-yr prison term

Seoul, Nov 21 A South Korean appellate court on Thursday sentenced a former fiance of Olympic fencing medalist Nam Hyun-hee to 13 years in prison for swindling dozens of people out of more than 3.5 billion won ($2.5 million) under the guise of a chaebol heir.

The Seoul High Court handed down the sentence to Jeon Cheong-jo, 28, saying she continued to commit fraud even after being released from prison after serving time for previous fraud convictions, including by disguising herself as a man in order to date famous people, Yonhap news agency reported.

The ruling adds one year to a lower court's sentence of 12 years in prison.

"Most of the money was spent on purchasing luxury items, making it difficult to reverse the damage to victims," the court said, noting a total of 35 people were swindled out of a combined 3.5 billion won.

The court also cited a "very high risk of a repeat offence".

Jeon gained notoriety following revelations last year that she had been engaged to Nam, the silver medalist in women's foil at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, under the guise of a man claiming to be an heir to the Paradise Hotel chain. The couple later broke up.

In September, Jeon was sentenced to an additional four years in prison for assaulting and threatening Nam's nephew, but the appellate court combined the two cases at Jeon's request.

The prosecution had demanded a 20-year prison term for Jeon.