Girls’ Generation’s Tiffany is the Next Idol to Come Under Fire in Korea’s Idol Parent #DebtToo Movement

Girls’ Generation‘s Tiffany is the latest high-profile idol to be thrown into the spotlight of Korea’s growing #DebtToo movement, where idols’ families are being exposed for money crimes such as failure to pay back a loan on time or scamming.

On an online community, a user (aged 41) accused Tiffany’s father of scamming 35 million won in 2007, and never paying it all back. He only offered a mere 2 million out of the 35 million he borrowed, and apparently, has been living a life of crime.

The user told Xportnews on December 4, 2018 that both Tiffany and her older brother knew what was going on with her father’s debt, but chose not to do anything.

“I trusted him and lent him money, but I didn’t get it back. I gave up on life for 10 years, but now I have been re-encouraged. The last time I contacted him was in April 2008. Since then, I have tried to contact him in many ways, but failed. But, I did hear rumors that he got into a big accident 3 years ago, got surgery, and moved to the USA. Tiffany and her older brother were aware of this situation with their father’s debt.”

— User

The user also posted about how he first met Tiffany’s father, how he got to lending him money, how he was threatened with a gun, and even his powerful connections with criminals.

“I am Kim Young Ho, a 1979’er and l live in Cheonan. I was scammed by Girls’ Generation’s Tiffany’s father.

I met Tiffany’s father in September 2007, in Manila, Philippines through an acquaintance of mine. After I immigrated to the United States, I enlisted in the military. After I was discharged from the military, I served as an officer in the US military base, but was sent to the American embassy in the Philippines.

In Subic, Philippines, where the US base is, he said that he was going to take over some places, such as the Subic Bay Country Club, Subic Majestic Hotel (which is now closed), Forest Hill Village, and the airport.

At that time, he was running a company called Rio and Rio Group, which was located at the Tektite Building in Ortigas, Manila, Philippines.

I visited the locations he said he was taking over, and decided to rent a house by the Subic Bay Country Club for a 50 million won deposit and put down 20 million won as a down payment.

In addition, there were more costs such as applying for and acquiring a mining permit, which cost 5 million won and rental for heavy equipment that would be used also cost 10 million won, totaling 35 million won, which I gave him.

However, the acquisition of the Subic Bay Country Club was all fake, he didn’t have any ability to acquire it. He did not apply for the mining permit or use the money for equipment rental.

After that, I went to the Subic Majestic Hotel, where he was staying and asked for my money back. He called me into his office and put a gun on top of his desk, and told me I’ll get my money back if I wait, so I should just wait.

I went back to Manila and posted on a Filipino site for Koreans called Fil-cafe24 about him, that I was scammed by him. I also posted on Naver and Daum about his scamming, his address and phone number in the Philippines, his driver’s license picture, and an audio recording and picture I personally took.

A few days later, I received phone calls from Tiffany’s brother and her father’s accompanying secretary Song Je Du. They told me that their father was having a hard time due to my online posts, and that if I deleted everything, they would return all of my money back.

I didn’t want to do anything until I got all the money back but since I stayed with Tiffany’s brother in BSA Twin Towers for 2 months in Apartment 1707 (Their father was in Apartment 1706), we had a close relationship and Tiffany’s brother promised that I would get all my money back. So I trusted him and deleted all the articles, pictures, and files. After I deleted everything, I received 2 million won from the Ortigas currency exchange via his secretary.

After that, I met Tiffany’s father at a karaoke place, which was run by one of his acquaintances, to get the rest of my money back. But he said instead of giving me back the promised 32 million left, he would only give me 20 million, which was different from his original promise. He also threatened me by saying one of the people he knows in the Philippines was a gangster in Korea.

I returned to Korea and filed countless lawsuits. Before moving to the Philippines, Tiffany’s father was deported from Korea for numerous crimes and was not allowed to re-enter until 2012.

I also saw his power and connections that his company, Rio and Rio Group, had. This happened in 2007. It was late in the day when he called me to his office, and told me we had to go to the Manila airport together. He told me a VIP was coming from Japan.

That VIP was Seo, a major suspect for a crime in Korea at the time. We headed back to the office together and he told me to help him get Seo a Mongolian visa, and gave me his passport. I was shocked when I looked at it. The photo was real, but he had a fake name.

Tiffany’s father was helping him enter the Philippines with a fake passport so he could go to Mongolia. Soon after, his visa was accepted and he left.

What could I do if Tiffany’s dad was capable of this much? I just gave up.

Personally, I feel sorry for Tiffany.

But the world has changed, and now I am writing this because I think we can freely talk about the incidents that have involved the families of celebrities.

I won’t post any more personal information about Tiffany’s disgusting father or his past affairs, or of other victims. I think the other victims will read this and make their own decision. I will accept any punishment if there is any false statements or defamation in this post.

To Tiffany’s father, this is not the same world as 10 years ago. I am not the same person as 10 years ago. You can call me at [Number Redacted] and we can try to resolve this.

I hope everyone who has been scammed by Tiffany’s father can be brave and stay strong.

— User

Some online users are doubting the validity of this major claim, saying they want it to be confirmed whether the scammer was indeed Tiffany’s father or not first.

Just last week, Mamamoo‘s Wheein was also put in the spotlight due to her father’s past actions.

Mamamoo’s Wheein is the Next Idol to Come Under Fire in Korea’s Idol Parent #DebtToo Movement