By Lee Hyo-sik
The father of Michelle Wie, a 22-year-old Korean-American golfer, has been implicated in a fraud where he allegedly colluded with another person to make false promises that his daughter would appear in commercials for a local real estate developer.
According to the Seocho Police Station, Wednesday, City Want, a property consulting and development firm, signed a 300-million-won contract with a 56-year-old man, surnamed Choi, in 2009 ensuring that the golfer would model for the company. Choi claimed he was an agent representing Wie in Korea.
Under the agreement, City Want paid Choi 200 million won and gave him a luxury bag worth 8 million won, asking him to deliver it to Wie. But the advertizing deal never materialized.
In May 2010, the company sued Choi, claiming he caused financial damage amounting to 800 million won. A year later, the firm also accused Wie’s father, Byung-wook, of being Choi’s accomplice.
But the 49-year-old professor at the University of Hawaii told police that Choi helped his daughter several times with her public relations activities in the country. But Wie said Choi was not an agent for his daughter. The professor denied all charges, according to the police.