“Falsely Claimed to be From a Prestigious French University, Pocketed 2 Billion Won
Repeated Fraud Offender… Sentenced to Imprisonment in First Trial
Installed in Cheongdo and Catholic Churches
In South Jeolla’s Shinan County, sculptures were installed, created by Choi, a 71-year-old man who falsely claimed to be a world-renowned sculptor educated at a prestigious university in Paris. He deceived people into installing angel statues in Ha-ui-do, the hometown of former President Kim Dae-jung, among other places, and pocketed over 2 billion won. He was sentenced to prison.
On the 20th, Daegu District Court’s Criminal Division 12, presided over by Judge Yeo Jae-won, sentenced Choi, charged with violating the Act on Aggravated Punishment for Specific Economic Crimes, to 2 years and 6 months in prison suspended for 4 years, with an order for probation and 120 hours of community service. According to Cheongdo County, Choi deceived them in 2022 by claiming to have graduated from Paris 7 University and to be a world-renowned sculptor who had been a professor abroad. He installed 20 sculptures and received 290 million won. However, it was revealed that he hadn’t even graduated from elementary school and had worked in metal and wood workshops. He also had a previous record of fraud. The sculptures installed in Cheongdo were fake ones imported from China.
Choi approached Shinan County using similar methods in 2018, establishing 318 angel statues and pocketing 1.9 billion won. According to Shinan County, he proposed to decorate Ha-ui-do, the hometown of the Nobel Prize-winning former President Kim, as an ‘Angel Island.’ The county accepted this and entrusted the overall installation of art pieces on Ha-ui-do to Choi. The angel statues, which cost 300 million won, were mostly from China.
The court explained their sentencing, stating, ‘The method of deceiving the Cheongdo county mayor and officials about his academic credentials and experience was bold.’ However, for the matter in Shinan County, they declared him not guilty, stating, ‘It is difficult to see that the false credentials and academic qualifications influenced the contract.’ Choi’s works have also been said to be installed in major Catholic churches and holy sites in Korea, such as the Daechi-dong Church in Gangnam, Seoul, and the tomb of Father Kim Dae-geon.”