‘Running Man’ star Kim Jong-kook lost ‘billions of won’ to investment scams

Celebrities can easily fall prey to scams as well, as revealed in an episode of South Korean reality series My Little Old Boy.

Kim Jong-kook, best known for being a member of the popular South Korean entertainment series Running Man (2010 to present), admitted that he has lost “billions of won” to investment scams. One billion won is about S$981,000 (RM3.4mil).

According to entertainment portal Starnews Korea, the 48-year-old star spoke about his experience with fraudsters on the June 9 episode of My Little Old Boy (2016 to present). He appeared in a segment along with actor Choi Jin-hyuk and singer Lee Sang-min.

Choi, 38, mentioned that he has received many text messages from various people and organisations, asking him to invest with them. Strangers have also asked him to lend them money. He asked Kim and Lee if they had faced similar situations.

Kim said he had been cheated, much to his friends’ surprise.

He was once offered financial advice by people around him and asked to invest. Kim subsequently learnt it was a scam and lost billions to fraudulent investments. He did not disclose when he was scammed and how much he lost in total.

He added he was affected by the loss, but now, he is more wary of making a fast buck. “I learnt the only way to make money is through hard work,” he added. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network