Jo Young Nam is a South Korean singer-songwriter, painter, writer and television personality. He graduated from Gangmun High School and later attended the Vocal Music program at Hanyang University but dropped out, he then enrolled at Seoul National University but also dropped out because he was hired as a part-time singer at the 8th U.S. Army base and felt he couldn't study and work at the same time. He earned a bachelor's degree in Theology from Trinity Theological Seminary and he received an honorary bachelor's degree in Vocal Music from Seoul National University.

He made his debut in 1968 with the song "Delilah" and rose to fame during the 1970s by combining Korean popular music and vocal music into one. He got married to actress Youn Yuh Jung in 1971 but, he went alone to the United States to study Theology after meeting Pastor Billy Graham in an event in Seoul. He divorced in 1987 as he confessed to many cases of adultery and his reputation has always suffered because of it. He retired as a singer around the mid-1990s and became a painter. He even featured as a critic in KBS's "Authentic Masterpieces" but was constantly criticized by the audience for his comments. In 2016, he was charged with fraud for selling 21 paintings done by two other painters to 17 people but the court found him not guilty but after an appeal, the ruling was overturned and he was sentenced to 10 months in prison. His lawyers appealed and a new trail was set in 2018 where the court stated he had no obligation to disclose that his assistants had painted the pictures, so he was found not guilty.

After a new appeal, the prosecution took the case to the Supreme Court and was definitely found not guilty in 2020. He is one of the richest in South Korea but his arrogant attitude and life full of scandals has taken him away from the public eye as he barely appears on TV these days.

(Source: Korean = Namu Wiki || Translation = kisskh) Edit Biography