[Yonhap News Photo]
SEOUL -- In her first court hearing, Yoo Soo-young, a member of S.E.S which was active in the 1990s as South Korea's first-generation K-pop girl band, apologized and acknowledged charges of habitual gambling.
The singer, known professionally as Shoo, was indicted last month for gambling in Macau and other casinos abroad from August 2016 to May 2018. Her total betting money was estimated at 790 million won ($702,200). She stood trial without being detained.
"I'm sorry for evoking public criticism," Yoo told reporters Thursday as she left a Seoul court where she did not reject charges brought by prosecutors.
An investigation began on complaints from private lenders that Yoo did not pay a combined debt of 600 million won after losing borrowed money at a foreigner-only casino at a Seoul hotel in June. The case triggered great public attention as it was the first gambling case involving a K-pop girl band member who once enjoyed high popularity.
Prosecutors dropped fraud charges against her. Instead, a money lender was indicted for aiding gambling as he knew his money would be used for gambling. Yoo allegedly visited the casino in Seoul using her foreign nationality. She was born in Yokohama, Japan. Her father is Korean and her mother is Japanese.
Yoo debuted in 1997 and got married after her group disbanded in 2003.
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
