Han So Hee's mother found guilty of running illegal gambling dens
Korean actress Han So Hee's mother was sentenced to a year in prison for operating multiple gambling establishments.
According to The Korea Times, Judge Kim Do-hyung of the Chuncheon District Court's Wonju Branch sentenced Shin, 55, to one year in prison with a two-year suspension, and 120 hours of community service.
Shin is accused of organizing seven gambling venues from January 2022 to late August 2023.
Investigations revealed that Shin worked with individuals connected to an illegal gambling site using the Telegram app. She gained access and control codes to create seven betting locations. She earned income by receiving a percentage of the total bets placed and the losses incurred by users
Operating from Wonju, she used "front men" to run adult PC game centers. These centers offered illegal online gambling, including baccarat, often through partnerships with existing operators. She profited from these operations, with five centers located in Wonju and one each in Ulsan and Gyeongju.
Judge Kim stated, “The defendant conspired with multiple game room operators to create gambling venues.”
“Given the operational structure of the game rooms, it appears that the defendant's acquired profits are also considerable,” she added.
The prosecution has appealed against the verdict.
Despite having been fined KRW 5 million (P196,000) for similar offenses in 2023, So Hee's mother continued the operation.
"Although the exact profits she gained are not clearly detailed in the records, the structure of the operations and profit-sharing arrangements indicate that the amount is likely substantial," the court said.
Shin had been detained in September but was released right after the sentence ruling was suspended.
Prosecutors, deeming the initial sentence of one year and six months imprisonment "unduly lenient," have appealed the court's decision to the Chuncheon District Court.
Shin has previously been slapped with complaints in line with fraud and other related offenses.
In July 2020, So Hee talked about her mother's unpaid debts as she confirmed that some were made under her name. "I learned that she had put my name in the debt documents without my knowledge and that my name was involved in a debt so large that I could not handle it," she wrote in a blog post, as reported by Soompi. "I was so young at the time, and through my immature judgment, I thought that the only solution was to repay the debt in her stead. However, I think that that ended up causing more victims in the end, so I apologize."
The Korean star revealed at the time that she was no longer in contact with her mother.
