Comedian Lee Jin-ho, 39, has been sent to the prosecutors on charges of illegal gambling following a police investigation.
On October 17, the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul announced that they had forwarded Lee Jin-ho to the prosecution on October 15 for illegal gambling. This follows a complaint filed in October last year by a citizen through the national petition system, urging a thorough investigation into Lee for the sake of the entertainment industry.
In October of last year, Lee Jin-ho admitted to accumulating debts amounting to billions of won due to gambling and subsequently stepped down from all his television programs, effectively halting his career.
At the time, Lee stated, "In 2020, I started playing games on an illegal online gambling site by chance and ended up with overwhelming debt." He added, "I am steadily repaying the money every month and am committed to clearing this debt on my own, no matter how long it takes."
It was revealed that due to the financial strain from gambling debts, Lee borrowed money from fellow celebrities and acquaintances, including BTS JIMIN and comedian Lee Soo-geun.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)