Theft Charges Against Ex-Miss Korea Dropped

 Choi Yoon-young-I

Prosecutors on Sunday dropped theft charges against ex-Miss Korea Choi Yoon-young-I. Choi had been investigated by police for stealing a wallet belonging to an acquaintance when she visited a friend's house on June 20. The wallet contained W800,000 in cash and W1 million in cashier's checks (US$1=W1,134).

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"Choi walked out of the house with a black wallet that looked similar to her own and realized later that it belonged to her acquaintance", an official at the Seoul Central Prosecutor's Office said. "She said in her testimony that she spent the money believing she could pay her acquaintance back later".

Prosecutors said they dropped the charges since it was Choi's first offense and she repaid the money, while the acquaintance did not want to press charges.

The U.S.-educated beauty queen debuted in showbusiness when she entered the Miss Korea contest in the mid-1990s. She has appeared in various TV series and movies and started her own business as a yoga instructor, releasing instructional videos and opening a studio. Police at first believed she stole the money due to money problems after the failure of her yoga business.