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Chung Yoo-ra (born Chung Yoo-yeon, 30 October 1996) is a South Korean
equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: * Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes i ...
. She competed in the
2014 Asian Games The 2014 Asian Games ( ko, 2014년 아시아 경기대회/2014년 아시안 게임, Icheon sip-sa nyeon Asia gyeonggi daehoe/Icheon sip-sa nyeon Asian Geim), officially known as the 17th Asian Games ( ko, 제17회 아시아 경기대회/제17회 ...
, where her team won a gold medal. She is a daughter of
Chung Yoon-hoi Chung Yoon-hoi (born 1955) is a South Korean businessman. He was the chief of staff to president Park Geun-hye when she was a second-term lawmaker. Tatsuya Kato, former Seoul bureau chief of the Sankei Shimbun newspaper, wrote an article allegi ...
and his ex-wife
Choi Soon-sil Choi Soon-sil (; born June 23, 1956) is an individual known primarily for her involvement in the 2016 South Korean political scandal, which stemmed from her influence over the 11th President of South Korea, Park Geun-hye. Biography Choi Soon- ...
, who has been arrested amid the
2016 South Korean political scandal Sixteen or 16 may refer to: *16 (number), the natural number following 15 and preceding 17 *one of the years 16 BC, AD 16, 1916, 2016 Films * '' Pathinaaru'' or ''Sixteen'', a 2010 Tamil film * ''Sixteen'' (1943 film), a 1943 Argentine film di ...
for using her friendship with the president
Park Geun-hye Park Geun-hye (; ; often in English ; born 2 February 1952) is a South Korean politician who served as the 11th president of South Korea from 2013 to 2017, until she was impeached and convicted on related corruption charges. Park was the fi ...
to illegally interfere in state affairs. Choi solicited business donations from top South Korean firms, including
Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
, for a nonprofit organization that was controlled by her.


Controversy


Alleged preferential admission to games

Ahn Min-Seok is a member of the
New Politics Alliance for Democracy The Democratic Party of Korea (DPK; ), formerly known as the New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD), is a liberal political party in South Korea. Controlling the unicameral National Assembly as of 2022, the DPK is regarded as one of two maj ...
(NAPD) and alleges that favors were exchanged to make sure that Chung Yoo-Ra would participate in the Incheon Asian Games.


Alleged preferential school treatment

Chung Yoo-Ra only attended 86, out of 205, days of class during her third year at the
Sunhwa Arts Middle School Han Sun-hwa (born October 6, 1990), also known mononymously as Sunhwa, is a South Korean singer and actress. She is a former member of the South Korean girl group Secret. She made her television debut in 2004 while participating in SBS' ''Sup ...
. Furthermore, she was completely absent for 42 days of class and left early without permission at 46 instances because of her equestrian training and competitions. The school only excused her for 3 absences and 6 instances of tardiness when she was sick. At the time, Song Ki-Seok, an administrator at the School District of Seoul, knew about her absenteeism but did nothing about it.
Chungdam High School Chungdam High School ( ko, 청담고등학교) is a public high school located in Apgujeong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea. It was opened in 1990. Notable alumni *Bang Chan *Choi Hyun-suk of Treasure *Lee Dae-hwi * Nam Da-won * Park Ji-hy ...
expelled her for excessive absenteeism, but
Choi Soon-sil Choi Soon-sil (; born June 23, 1956) is an individual known primarily for her involvement in the 2016 South Korean political scandal, which stemmed from her influence over the 11th President of South Korea, Park Geun-hye. Biography Choi Soon- ...
successfully appealed the expulsion by producing an official letter from the Korean Racing Association. However, on December 5, 2016, the Board of Education of the School District of Seoul revoked her high school diploma. The board further accuses her of bribing her high school teacher for a perfect score at her exit examination and forging her records at an equestrian competition that she never participated in. She allegedly lied about winning a gold medal at the
Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...
during her admission interview for Ewha College (a women's college). Professors also allegedly gave her credits that she did not deserve. When suspicions arose, Chung Yoo-Ra suddenly applied online for a leave of absence from the college but ultimately did not complete her application. On December 2, 2016 and after a special investigation, Ewha College's Audit Committee requested the college to expel Chung Yoo-Ra, revoke her admission, and discipline the corrupt professors. On December 5, 2016, she received a letter from the board which revoked her high school diploma and a letter of expulsion from her college but decided to not appeal those decisions.


Alleged K-Sports Foundation embezzlement

Chung Yoo-Ra allegedly embezzled funds from the K-Sports Foundation, which was used by
Choi Soon-Sil Choi Soon-sil (; born June 23, 1956) is an individual known primarily for her involvement in the 2016 South Korean political scandal, which stemmed from her influence over the 11th President of South Korea, Park Geun-hye. Biography Choi Soon- ...
to solicit bribes from South Korean conglomerates. Choi also used a number of shell companies to facilitate her crimes. Choi closed these companies on the same day that the Mir Foundation and K-Sports Foundation were in the news for illicit activities.


Arrest by Danish local police

On January 2, 2017, Lee Ga-hyuk, a reporter from the
JTBC Newsroom ''JTBC Newsroom'' is the flagship nightly newscast of South Korean television network JTBC. The newscast is aired from 19:30-20:30 KST and 18:00-18:30 on weekends. ''JTBC Newsroom'' replaced two of its predecessors, ''JTBC News 10'' and ''JTBC New ...
, tracked down Chung Yoo-Ra's Volkswagen, which was parked inside the garage of her
Aalborg Aalborg (, , ) is Denmark's fourth largest town (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an urban population of 143,598 (1 July 2022). As of 1 July 2022, the Municipality of Aalb ...
hideout. A Korean resident in Denmark suspected Chung of
illegal immigration Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwar ...
and reported her to the local police, who promptly arrested her.


Expulsion from the Korea Equestrian Association

On April 17, 2017, the Korean Racing Association permanently expelled and banned Chung Yoo-ra from both international and domestic competitions because of her admissions scandal. It also ordered her to return the stipend that was paid by the national team.


Legal issues

During the investigations of the 2016 South Korean political scandal, Ewha College revoked her admission due to "preferential treatment in admissions and grading". The board of the School District of Seoul also revoked her high school diploma because she falsified her high school records. In December 2016, South Korea put out an arrest warrant for Chung Yoo-ra for charges including
obstruction of justice Obstruction of justice, in United States jurisdictions, is an act that involves unduly influencing, impeding, or otherwise interfering with the justice system, especially the legal and procedural tasks of prosecutors, investigators, or other gov ...
after she refused to return from
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
to attend a parliamentary inquiry about her role in the scandal. The South Korean government announced that it would invalidate her passport and seek her arrest and
extradition Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdict ...
from Germany. The South Korean government also sought the help of
Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...
to track her down. On January 1, 2017, some South Korean journalists managed to track her down in Aalborg and tipped the Danish police of her whereabouts, who promptly arrested her. The German
Federal Police A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws. Jurisdiction LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction. LEAs ...
are investigating Chung Yoo-ra and her mother for
money laundering Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions ...
involving assets that are estimated at more than 1 billion US dollars.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chung, Yoo-ra South Korean dressage riders South Korean female equestrians Equestrians at the 2014 Asian Games Asian Games medalists in equestrian Asian Games gold medalists for South Korea Ewha Womans University alumni Sportspeople from Seoul 1996 births Living people People associated with the 2016 South Korean political scandal Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games