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Notorious fraudster Jang Young-ja handed fifth prison stint

Published: 18 Apr. 2025, 16:39

Jang Young-ja, who first became known to the public after being convicted along her late husband in 1982 for issuing 640.4 billion won ($451.5 million) in fraudulent promissory notes, attends a trial at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Jan. 8, 2019. [NEWS1]

Notorious fraudster Jang Young-ja is heading to prison for a fifth time, 43 years after her conviction in a high-profile promissory note fraud case in the 1980s, bringing her total time served to 34 years.

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a one-year prison sentence for the 81-year-old that was handed down by an appellate court on March 21 for using a forged financial instrument.

Prosecutors indicted Jang for issuing a forged cashier’s check worth 15.42 billion won ($10.9 million) in July 2017.

She handed the check to a company as an advance payment after signing a contract to supply agricultural products at a hotel in Seocho District, southern Seoul. Authorities said she received 30 million won in earnest money in return.

The trial court initially acquitted Jang, ruling that there was insufficient evidence to prove she knew the check was forged.

“If the defendant had known the check was fake, she would have used it in a way that yielded immediate financial gain. Instead, she used it for a deal set to be fulfilled months later, which is unusual,” the court said.

However, the appellate court overturned the ruling. It found that Jang had attempted a similar fraud a month earlier, when she gave a forged check to someone else and asked them to cash it. That incident led the court to conclude she knew the check was counterfeit in this case as well.

The Supreme Court found no error in the appellate ruling and dismissed Jang’s appeal.

Jang and her late husband were first convicted in 1982 for issuing 640.4 billion won in fraudulent promissory notes. She received a 15-year sentence and was released on parole in 1992 after serving 10 years.

She later faced multiple fraud charges involving hundreds of billions of won. In 1994, just 22 months after her first release, she was convicted in a loan fraud case worth 14 billion won and received a four-year sentence. She was released after receiving a Liberation Day special pardon in 1998.

In 2000, she was again imprisoned in a case involving 22 billion won in old banknotes. In 2015, prosecutors indicted her for defrauding acquaintances of 600 million won by claiming she needed money to donate Samsung Everland convertible bonds left behind by her late husband. The Supreme Court sentenced her to four years in 2020, and she was released in early 2022.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.

BY BAE JAE-SUNG [[email protected]]