Han So Hee’s mother has received suspended sentence again after being found guilty of running a network of illegal gambling dens across South Korea.
On May 16, 2025, the Chuncheon District Court upheld the original ruling, sentencing her to one year in prison, suspended for two years, along with 120 hours of community service.
Prosecutors stated she was recruited via Telegram by a member of an illegal gambling website, who provided access codes and manager credentials. Using these, she opened seven gambling “stores” offering illegal betting games, such as baccarat, and profited by taking a cut of users’ bets and losses.
In Wonju, she either set up adult PC gaming centers under a frontman’s name or partnered with existing operators to enable online gambling. She operated five illegal dens in Wonju, plus one each in Ulsan and Gyeongju, totaling seven.
She had a prior conviction in 2023, when she was fined 5 million won (approximately $3,600) for violating the Game Industry Promotion Act in a separate 2021 case. During the first trial, the court considered the substantial profits she likely earned, the fact that she had only one previous conviction and her detention during the investigation. Taking these factors into account, the court handed down a suspended sentence.
Prosecutors, who had sought a one-and-a-half-year prison term, appealed the ruling, arguing the sentence was too lenient. However, the appellate court dismissed the appeal, stating that the original ruling had already addressed the prosecution’s concerns and that no new circumstances justified a harsher penalty.
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