Man found guilty of lying to matchmaker

By Lee Kyung-min

An appeals court has upheld a lower court ruling that convicted a doctor, surnamed Jeong, 44, for interference with the business of a matchmaking agency as he lied about his age and divorce history.

The court said Sunday that it agreed with the eight-month prison sentence that was imposed on him. While a lower court put him behind bars immeidiately after the ruling, the appellate court suspened it for two years.

“He lied about his age and history of divorce, which is some of the most important information for a matchmaking agency’s clients,” the court said. “He not only inflicted financial damage to the agency but also damaged its public trust.”

Jeong signed up with the matchmaking agency in May last year, submitting a photo of his driver’s license in which he had ― illegally ― changed the year of his birth to 1983, while he was actually born in 1972.

He also submitted a false document about his marital status stating he had never been married.

Through the agency, Jeong dated four women, one of whom discovered his lies and demanded a refund of the 5.8 million won ($5,200) registration fee. The agency paid the money and sued Jeong for obstruction of business.