Ahn Jung Hwan’s Agency Responds To Allegations of Fraud Against His Mother And Uncle

Ahn Jung Hwan has responded to allegations of fraud surrounding his mother and uncle.

On January 25, a businessman named Lee told a reporter that he has been suffering from debt for the past 20 years because of the money he lent Ahn Jung Hwan’s mother Ahn Geum Hyang.

Lee became acquainted with Ahn Geum Hyang after she moved to the city of Goyang in 1997. At the time, Ahn Geum Hyang claimed that she was having a hard time taking care of Ahn Jung Hwan, who was a member of the national soccer team, and asked for financial assistance.

Lee decided to trust Ahn Geum Hyang because of Ahn Jung Hwan’s status as a soccer player for the national team and after seeing him dine at his mother’s restaurant. Lee said, “Around the year 2000, Ahn Geum Hyang gave me a bottle of liquor and a belt saying that Ahn Jung Hwan bought it for me in Italy.”

The businessman believed Ahn Geum Hyang, who said that her son was a senior at Ajou University who would soon be graduating. She said would no longer have to take care of him and Ahn Jung Hwan was also grateful to the businessman.

Ahn Geum Hyang borrowed money multiple times until the year 2000 where the principal amount reached 150 million won (approximately $134,049). However, she did not repay the money and was arrested in 2002 for heavy gambling debts and theft. After learning of this through the news, Lee met with Ahn Jung Hwan’s uncle, who pleaded at a lawyer’s office and he signed a notarized promise for repayment.

Lee said, “I know that the people who sued Ahn Geum Hyang at the time settled with Ahn Jung Hwan. My situation was also bad, but I couldn’t bring myself to do that. So I trusted and waited. But Ahn Jung Hwan didn’t repay his mother’s debt and I couldn’t get in contact with Ahn Jung Hwan. His uncle borrowed additional money from me, but never repaid it. If you ask me why I lend him money again, it’s because if you lend someone a large amount of money and if the relations worsen when the other person doesn’t repay, then the creditor becomes the owner and falls deeper into the debtor’s swamp.”

Lee worked consistently over 20 years to get the money back. Using the notarized promise of payment from 2001, Lee sent a certification of contents to Ahn Geum Hyang. After years of avoiding contact, Ahn Geum Hyang called Lee in 2010 to ask to borrow around 100,000 won (approximately $89) to ride a taxi because her mother passed away. In November 2018, Lee received a text message from Ahn Jung Hwan’s uncle that said, “That money is money that should be repaid by that bastard [Ahn Jung Hwan].”

Lee did not know Ahn Jung Hwan’s contact information, but was able to inform the CEO of his agency about the situation. Lee, however, was told, “He went overseas. I told you that he hasn’t returned. Why are you nagging so much?”

Lee concluded, “Those people are living without any guilt after borrowing a large amount of 150 million won (approximately $134,049) 20 years ago, but the victim’s family who couldn’t overlook the hardships of their neighbor has been living in pain for a long time. I’m not telling them to repay the money all at once. Ahn Jung Hwan’s mom said, ‘I won’t forget this act of kindness even after I die,’ and those words have turned into a dagger that stabbed my heart. I should at least inform others that the victims are still suffering.”

A source from Ahn Jung Hwan’s agency gave a response to the reports. They stated, “Ahn Jung Hwan is not in touch with his mom. We’re confused by this article because he’s not even in touch with his mom. We’re going to have to look at the background and situation behind the publication of this article, and form the direction for our response.”

Ahn Jung Hwan had previously spoken about his difficult childhood on MBC’s “Hungry Husband” where he was raised by his grandmother on a rooftop house until entering college. He had said, “I felt the most hopeless when I was hungry. There was no hope and no tomorrow. I thought that these factors should motivate me to live upright.”

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