Singer Jang Yun-jeong. [Herald POP]
Singer Jang Yun-jeong. [Herald POP]

The mother of singer Jang Yun-jeong has gone missing while under police investigation on fraud allegations, with some speculating she may have taken her own life.

Yuk, Jang's mother, has been completely unreachable since sending a lengthy KakaoTalk message to news outlet The Fact on June 18, according to The Fact.

In the message, Yuk lamented her circumstances, writing: "How wonderful it would have been to have a home to return to, to cook a warm meal with my own hands… The pain has only grown, and I've been wandering about in tears, living like a drifter — if this is how I must live, I'd rather … "

She continued: "I think this will be my last message. I'm sorry for causing you so much grief. Please stay healthy, and may everything go well for you. Farewell."

Yuk also reportedly left a separate letter asking that it be passed on to Jang.

JTBC's crime affairs program "Sageon Banjang," which aired Tuesday, had also cautiously raised the possibility that something may have happened to Yuk.

Police had been searching for Yuk in connection with the fraud investigation, but the search was suspended after no signs of activity — such as phone or card use — were detected, leaving her whereabouts unknown.

Attorney Park Ji-hoon said on the program: "There is a real possibility she has died, or it could simply be that she has stopped using her name entirely — though that would not be easy to sustain. She cannot just disappear without a trace." He added: "This seems to be an urgent situation. If anyone knows where Yuk is, please report it to the police immediately."

The fraud allegations against Yuk center on claims that she deceived an acquaintance into investing tens of millions of won in TV Chosun's singing competition "Miss Trot," promising financial returns. Yuk fabricated KakaoTalk messages and other materials to make it appear that Jang was involved, in order to gain the victim's trust.

The victim filed a complaint with police against Yuk in April. Another alleged victim, who claims to have been defrauded by the same method, is also said to have filed a complaint against her.

Jang's representatives told JTBC that she had refrained from commenting on her mother's fraud allegations, saying she had "absolutely never been in direct contact with her mother over the past decades." They said she was speaking out now out of concern that additional victims could emerge.

Jang publicly cut ties with Yuk more than a decade ago. In 2013, she said that while settling her finances she discovered all the money she had earned over 10 years had vanished, and that she had been left with roughly 1 billion won ($643,000) in debt because of Yuk and her younger brother. Yuk and the brother subsequently held a press conference raising various allegations against Jang and filed a lawsuit claiming ownership of Jang's income. The court rejected Yuk's claims, and Jang won a partial victory in a separate suit she filed against her brother seeking the return of funds.

Yuk was also detained in 2018 on fraud charges after borrowing a total of 415 million won from acquaintances between 2015 and 2017 and failing to repay them.

If you're thinking about self-harm or suicide, contact the Ministry of Health and Welfare's helpline 1393, available 24/7. Please request a translator for English-language services.


paq@heraldcorp.com