Gambling Illegal In Korea
Discussion of illegal gambling in Korea has spread all over the international K-pop scene after the trials of six high profile celebrities were announced. Shinhwa’s Andy, first wave idol group H.O.T’s Tony Ahn, MCs Boom, and Tak Jae Hoon and comedians Lee Soo Geun and Yang Sae Hyang were all charged with illegal sports betting. In other words, the answer to is online gambling legal in South Korea question is no: Online gambling South Korea activities are strictly forbidden. This means internet gambling is illegal and unlike many other jurisdictions that have similar laws, South Korea actually enforces these laws. The legal Korea casino age here is 18. Gambling Expansion in South Korea. South Korea is one of the most economically successful countries in Asia. Unfortunately, government officials here have taken a mostly anti-gambling stance throughout the years. Most forms of gambling in the country were completely prohibited until the mid-1960s. Gambling is illegal in South Korea, apart from in designated places such as casinos catering mostly to tourists. Gambling is also a violation of the code of conduct for monks of the Jogye order.
Is Gambling Illegal In South Korea
[Example Situation]
Mr. Kim (age 50, Suwonite) invites five of his neighbors come and play poker. Money/betting is involved, but only KRW 500 – 3000 (USD 0.4 – 2.5) per round. They play for about 40 minutes. Mr. Kim loses the most money, around KRW 32,000 (USD 26.5). Mr. Lee, the winner, pays for everyone’s lunch that day. They part ways after that. Q: Crime or no?
In a very similar case last year, the Suwon District Court found them all not guilty of gambling. But not just because of the (small) amount of money. The gambling that day was considered “mere pastime” for these reasons too: 1) They all knew one another, 2) They played for a relatively short period of time + during the day, 3) The winner’s money was spent to buy everyone’s lunch that day, and 4) None of them were very poor.
#1 and #4 are especially important. There have been cases where people were found guilty of gambling even when less money (than the above example) was involved. In these cases, people usually were total strangers and/or living on welfare. In other words, “mere pastime” is a relative concept: Was winning money a means (to fun) or an end itself?
In October 2015, reports came out that three pitchers from the Samsung Lions baseball team were under investigation for having gambled (with large amounts of money) in Macau the previous year. These reports came out right before the 2015 Korean Series, and the Lions decided to remove the three players from their final roster. Well, the Samsung Lions lost to the Doosan Bears. Had they won, it would have been their 5th consecutive title. (They had just won the pennant 5 years straight.)
Criminal Act Article 2: “This Act shall apply to both Korean nationals and aliens who commit crimes in the territory of the Republic of Korea.”
Criminal Act Article 3: “This Act shall apply to all Korean nationals who commit crimes outside the territory of the Republic of Korea.”
Last month, one of the three pitchers, Lim Chang-yong, was found guilty and fined 10 mil won. (Side note: Another pitcher, Oh Seung-hwan, who was playing for a team in Japan was together found guilty and received the same punishment.) Both have been banned for half a season by the KBO (Korea Baseball Organization). Lim is now looking for a team, while Oh has since signed with the St. Louis Cardinals in the U.S. As for the other two Lions pitchers, they are still under investigation. Reports say they are training with the team in preparation for the upcoming season.
KBO Tidbit: If you are a (recent) fan of Korean professional baseball, I recommend you check out Game 7 of the 1999 playoff series between the Samsung Lions and the Lotte Giants. It’s arguably the most memorable game ever. “Tonight, we win no matter what,” ordered Park Jung-tae to his teammates during the game. He was the Lotte Giants team captain. For me, the most memorable games (in all sports) take place when neither side can imagine losing. And play like there’s no tomorrow.
Not all form of “overseas gambling” is a crime (for Koreans). For instance, playing slots for fun while vacationing in Nevada is okay. There are casinos here in Korea too, but almost all are exclusively for non-Koreans. There is only one for both Koreans and non-Koreans: The Gangwon Land Casino. In there, the Criminal Act is preempted by another law, so even Koreans are able to participate. FYI, the Paradise Walkerhill Casino (Seoul) is for non-Koreans only. (The one in Incheon closed down recently. It was the first ever casino in Korea!) To be clear, gambling (not for “mere pastime”) outside a casino is a crime even for non-Koreans within Korea. So please gamble in its place. Or not at all.
Illegal/private sports betting in Korea is punished under a separate law which outlines harsher criminal punishment. The name of the law is the National Sports Promotion Act (국민체육진흥법). To read a nice post (in Korean) about the consequences of illegal sports betting, click here.
DID YOU KNOW?Simply selling coffee where you know illegal gambling to take place constitutes the crime of aiding and abetting.
For fun, below is a spam message I received recently. I get these from time to time. They say such gambling-type messages are the most frequently received spam messages in Korea. 2nd is regarding loans.
Thanks for reading!
According to reports on October 23, S.E.S member/singer Shoo is facing a criminal lawsuit for money concealment while currently on probation for her illegal habitual gambling sentence.
Previously, Shoo was charged with committing illegal, habitual gambling overseas from 2016 through 2017 worth approximately 790 million KRW (~ $700,000 USD). She was found guilty and sentenced to a probationary period of 2 years, where if she commits additional crimes, she could face a year and 6 months in prison.
Now, it's been revealed that an acquaintance of Shoo, 'A', has filed a lawsuit against Shoo, claiming that Shoo concealed money from them. 'A' is an acquaintance who is still involved in another lawsuit with Shoo, after lending Shoo 350 million KRW (~ $300,000 USD) for gambling, which Shoo failed to pay back. In this ongoing lawsuit, Shoo claimed that she did not have the 350 million KRW to return to 'A', and also argued that 'A' originally loaned her the money to be used for gambling.
'A's latest lawsuit against Shoo claims that Shoo attempted to sell her Gyeonggi-do residence to 'A'. The two parties completed a sales contract in March of 2019; however, Shoo currently still resides at the residence. 'A' claims that Shoo tricked them with a false sales contract, therefore withholding money which Shoo is allegedly required to pay back for previous loan.
Shoo's side has yet to release a statement regarding the lawsuit.