By then, she had already transferred around 35 million won (approximately $25,689). A woman in her late 30s believed she had found love with South Korean actor Lee Dong Wook . She later discovered that the person behind the account was not Lee Dong Wook at all. The woman spoke about the alleged scam on SBS’s News Hunters, explaining how what began as social media messages slowly turned into what she believed was a serious relationship. The money requests came much later, after the impersonator had spent months building her trust.
For eight months, she exchanged messages with a man who told her he was the actor, spoke to her about marriage and even discussed meeting her family.
He then began asking her to send money for documents and storage charges so it could be released. He claimed to have sent her a package containing gifts worth 700 million won (approx. $505,922 USD).
The scam allegedly took a financial turn when the impersonator told the woman he was overseas for a filming schedule. The package, he said, had become stuck in customs.
Their conversations reportedly moved beyond casual fan interactions, with the two discussing their families and a possible future together. “He more or less professed his love for me. She added, “It grew into a romantic relationship. I called him ‘oppa’ (an affectionate Korean term for an older male) and he called me ‘honey. There was, however, one major gap in the relationship.
The woman said the man claiming to be Lee Dong Wook made the relationship feel increasingly personal, according to Korean news outlet Hankook Ilbo. We even talked about visiting my parents and arranging a meeting of the families,” she said. She said she eventually began seeing him as her partner. She called him “oppa”, while he called her “honey”, and she was told that he had chosen her as his future spouse. He told me he had chosen me as his spouse”. In all those eight months, the woman said they never met in person and never spoke over the phone.
It stressed that its artists do not ask fans for money, valuables or personal information through private messages. The agency also warned fans against anyone claiming that money is needed to arrange a VIP fan meeting or private access to an artist. He is currently busy filming Netflix’s upcoming romance drama Love Affair, not another action series. The drama is directed by Mo Wan Il, the filmmaker behind The World of the Married. He stars alongside Jung Yu Mi and Jeon So Nee in the series.
Most recently, Lee Dong Wook was seen in the season 2 of the K-drama , A Shop for Killers .
The actor’s agency King Kong by Starship said it has recently heard from people who were approached by individuals pretending to be its artists on social media and private messaging platforms.
