Actor Han So-hee’s mother gets suspended prison term for running illegal gambling dens

By KTimes

Actor Han So-hee’s mother was sentenced to a suspended prison term for operating multiple illegal gambling establishments, legal sources said Wednesday.

Judge Kim Do-hyung of the Chuncheon District Court’s Wonju Branch sentenced the actress’ mother, aged 55, to one year in prison with a two-year suspension, along with 120 hours of community service, for charges related to the establishment of gambling venues.

The 55-year-old was prosecuted for establishing seven gambling venues for profit between late January 2022 and late August 2023.

At the time, Han’s agency issued a statement, “This case is entirely unrelated to the actress and stems from her mother’s personal actions. We apologize for any inconvenience caused by this private matter.”

Prosecutors said that Han’s mother connected with members of an illegal gambling site through Telegram, obtaining access and management codes to establish seven betting venues. She earned profits by collecting commissions based on total wagers and user losses.

Operating out of Wonju, Han’s mother employed “front men” to manage adult PC game centers under profit-sharing deals or worked with existing operators to enable illegal online gambling, including baccarat card games. Investigators found she ran five venues in Wonju and one each in Ulsan and Gyeongju, South Gyeongsang Province.

The court pointed out that Han’s mother continued to manage and operate gambling sites despite having been fined 5 million won ($3,800) in 2023 for similar offenses. “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.

Han’s mother, who had been detained in September, was released immediately following the suspended sentence ruling. Prosecutors had sought a prison sentence of one year and six months but have appealed the ruling, calling it “unduly lenient.” The appeals trial will proceed at the Chuncheon District Court.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.