Actress Han So-hee's mother received a suspended prison sentence in the appeals court as well. Han So-hee's mother is accused of establishing several illegal gambling establishments.
The Chuncheon District Court Criminal Division 1 (Director General Shim Hyun-geun) sentenced A (55) to a suspended prison term of one year and two years of probation on the 16th for charges of operating gambling facilities. The court also ordered 120 hours of community service.
Earlier, the first trial court took into account that A had likely gained considerable profits, the absence of previous convictions for similar offenses aside from one fine, and the fact that A had been in custody and held in detention for a certain period, leading to the issuance of a suspended prison sentence. A had previously been caught in 2021 for violating the Gaming Industry Promotion Act and received a fine of 5 million won in 2023.
The prosecution, which had sought a prison term of one year and six months, appealed, stating, "The sentence is too light." However, the appeals court rejected this, stating, "The reasons for the appeal cited by the prosecution appear to have already been reflected in the original judgment," and added, "No changes in sentencing conditions can be found since the original judgment."
According to the prosecution, A created seven locations where gambling games could be conducted by receiving access codes and store manager codes from members of an illegal gambling site, whom he met through Telegram. He then collected a certain percentage of the revenue generated from these locations, namely, "the money bet by users of the gambling site" and "the money they lost" as a commission.
Additionally, A set up what is known as a "figurehead president" in Wonju, Gangwon Province, under the condition of revenue sharing, to operate adult PC gaming establishments or colluded with adult PC gaming operators to allow guests to partake in online gambling such as "baccarat." He operated five illegal gambling establishments in Wonju and one each in Ulsan and Gyeongju, a total of seven illegal gambling establishments.