The Seoul District Court handed down a sentence to Shoo from group S.E.S for her illegal gambling activities.
Last Friday the Seoul Eastern District Court held a hearing regarding the charges of habitual illegal gambling and theft of four defendants including S.E.S Shoo (real name Yoo Soo-Young). As a result of the trial, the singer was sentenced to six months in prison, two years probation and 80 hours of community service.
Yoo has admitted to allegations of habitual gambling abroad. She visited foreign locations such as Macau around 26 times gambled around 798.25 million won (711,041 USD). During the trial, Prosecutors fought for a year-long sentence for the singer. Taking into consideration that she had no criminal record and pledged to reflect on the case, the presiding judge decided on her reduced prison sentence, probation and community service.
During the session, the judge noted that the 21 months that Yoo had regularly been gambling at overseas casinos was very long and the amount of money she spent — almost 80 million won — was also quite large as well. Moreover, the judge said that although she is a famous entertainment and had a lot of money, she continued gambled until it became a problem.
In response to her indictment, the singer apologized to her family and children. “I am so sorry and feel ashamed for my children,” she said, “I’m sorry to my loved one and all of you.” Continuing, Yu commented that she felt terrible and was angry at herself for not being able to stop gambling.
Nonetheless, she says that she “will not forget to live well” and will “really reflect” on the consequences of her action and won’t gamble again. Moreover, she believes that the results of the trial are justified and plans to “faithfully carry out the punishment.”
While prison time and probation seem like a steep sentence, it could have been a lot worse
In June of last year at a hotel-casino in Seoul, Yoo borrowed 350 million won and 250 million won, respectively, from two people. Failing to pay them back, the two sued the singer for fraud. However, the prosecution argued that the two creditors exchanged money with Yoo and were reckless. As such, it was concluded that she was innocent of the fraud charge.
Additionally, Yoo was acquitted of domestic gambling charges. She was found to be in line with the law in that she was able to enter casinos as a foreigner with overseas residency; Yoo was born in Japan to a Japanese mother and a Korean father.
By O.C
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