A woman pretending to be a former South Korean first lady was arrested Friday on suspicion of swindling a politician out of nearly $ 400 , 000 , a report said .
Claiming to be late president Roh Moo - hyun ’ s widow Kwon Yang- sook , the fraudster allegedly persuaded the then mayor of Gwangju to transfer her 450 million won ( $ 398 , 000 ) , saying she needed it for her daughter and promising to repay it quickly .
At the time Yoon Jang - hyun , a member of the Democratic party of both Roh and current President Moon Jae - in , was seeking the organisation ’ s nomination for a second term as leader of the southern city.
Corruption allegations are commonplace in South Korean politics , and its last two presidents Lee Myung - bak and Park Geun - hye are both serving prison sentences for graft .
Roh himself committed suicide by jumping off a cliff in 2009 after he was questioned over a corruption case involving Kwon .
Her alleged impersonator texted around 10 prominent figures in Gwangju in December but Yoon was the only one to pay out, Yonhap news agency reported .
Friday’ s arrest came after a man was held earlier this week on charges of pretending to be close to a presidential aide in charge of managing Moon ’ s supposed slush funds .
The 65 - year- old allegedly persuaded his victim to hand over 550 million won , promising him some of the proceeds of bars of gold bullion he claimed were stashed in a secret warehouse .
Moon — who previously worked as a top aide to Roh — last month warned South Koreans against people impersonating his family or staff .
“ If you meet anyone who calls for money , citing the names of presidential relatives or Blue House officials, consider all of them as swindlers and report them immediately to authorities , ” he said in a statement .
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