Kang Byung-Kyu Sentence by Seoul Court for Illegal Baccarat Gaming

On February 5th, 2009, Kang Byung-Kyu, a baseball player turned television host, has been meted out a suspended jail sentence for habitually playing through online gaming sites. The Seoul Central District Court sentenced thirty-six year old Kang Byung-Kyu, to two years of suspended prison sentence and one hundred sixty hours of community service.

The Seoul Central District Court said that Kang Byung-Kyu wagered a big amount of money on illegal games on online sites showing live baccarat games from a gaming house in the Philippines. The court added that Kang even visited one of the sites five hundred times. But the court only gave him a two years of suspended prison term because he was the only victim of losses, had no existing criminal record and has reflected on his wrong doing.

Kang was indicted by the Seoul Prosecutor's Office without any physical detention on charges of wagering 2.6 billion won or $1.8 million from October 2007 to last May 2008, losing around 1.2 billion won. Kang Byung-Kyu is previously a baseball player turned television host.

Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Kate Foster