Actress Han So Hee’s mother has been sentenced to a suspended prison sentence for running several illegal gambling establishments.
Judge Kim Do-hyung of the Wonju Branch of the Chuncheon District Court sentenced Han’s mother to one year in prison with two years suspended.
The 55-year-old will also have to carry out 120 hours of civil service, for expenses related to the opening of gaming halls.
Prosecutors had initially requested a prison sentence of one year and six months, but appealed the sentence, calling it “overly lenient”.
Han’s mother had opened seven for-profit gambling halls between late January 2022 and late August 2023.
Gambling is mostly banned for South Koreans, with exceptions for bets placed at government-approved facilities.
“This case has no relation to the actress and stems from her mother’s personal actions. We apologize for any inconvenience caused by this private matter,” read a statement released by Han’s agency.
Prosecutors said Han’s mother coordinated the premises with members of an illegal gambling site via the Telegram messaging app.
The 55-year-old managed to gain access to set up seven betting venues and collect commissions based on users’ total bets and losses.
Han’s mother also employed “frontmen” to operate adult PC gaming centers under profit-sharing agreements and worked with existing operators to enable illegal online gambling.
Investigators revealed that, as head of operations, he manned five locations in Wonju, one in Ulsan and one in Gyeongju.
The court heard that Han’s mother continued to operate the gambling sites even after being fined 5 million won ($3,800) in 2023 for similar offenses.
“Although the exact profits he made are not clearly detailed in the records, the structure of the operations and profit-sharing arrangements indicate that the amount is likely to be substantial,” the court said.
Han’s mother, who was detained in September for her crimes, was released immediately after the suspended sentence.
The appeal process will proceed in the Chuncheon District Court.
