Civic group supporting Cho Kuk voice phished of 400 million won

Former Justice Minister Cho Kuk / Yonhap

By Jun Ji-hye

A civic group that supports former Justice Minister Cho Kuk has fallen victim to a voice phishing scam that robbed it of about 400 million won ($332,000) donated by its supporters, according to police officials Thursday.

A member of the group, identified only by his surname Kim, who has managed an account for support payments, reported the incident to the police in Seoul on Oct. 9. The swindler and the money have yet to be traced, though police have carried out an investigation over the past five months.

Kim told the police that he sent 400 million won to several other accounts after being deceived by the swindler over the phone.

Police froze Kim's account immediately after his report was made, but the money had already been withdrawn.

The civic group, which has collected more than 2 billion won in donations from supporters, is facing criticism as it has concealed the incident from them.

Rather, on Oct. 17, just days after the incident, the group said during a YouTube broadcast that the money had been used transparently to hold rallies in support of Cho.

On Oct. 29, Lee Jong-won, the head of the group, even vowed to disclose an accounting report to supporters, but he has yet to do so.

The civic group has held rallies 15 times from September through December in protest against prosecutors' investigations into corruption allegations surrounding Cho and his family.

The group has also called the investigations against Cho an attempt to disturb the Moon Jae-in administration's push for prosecutorial reform.

Cho, who was one of the closest aides to President Moon, resigned from his cabinet post, Oct. 14 amid the investigations.

“We are still tracking down the perpetrator,” a police official said.