South Korean Actress’s Mother Escapes Jail Time for Role in Illegal Gambling Ring

The mother of Han So-hee found herself narrowly escaping prison time after a judge handed her down a suspended sentence, which will allow the 55-year-old defendant to stay free but under certain conditions.

Mother of K-Drama Star Has Close Brush with Prison

For one, the woman would need to refrain from any gambling as well as perform 120 hours of community service as part of her sentence. She won’t actually spend prison time thanks to the suspended sentence ruling.

However, this has been hard won, as prosecutors insisted that the defendant ought to serve jail time for her actions, and originally called for at least 18 months in prison. The woman is said to have run five illegal gambling sites in Wonju as well as one in Ulsan and Gyeongju.

Prosecutors objected to the ruling of Judge Kim Do-hyung who handed down the suspended sentence instead, and whose ruling was described as too lenient given the circumstances of the transgression and the size of the illegal gambling operation.

The gambling sites were run by the defendant between January 2022 and August 2023, prosecutors explained, with the investigators unable to prove the exact size of the profit the business had incurred. 

Investigators also called on the sentence as unjust as the woman, who was never identified, was actually fined once over her involvement in illicit gambling, which did not stop her from continuing her engagement with the illegal operations.

Daughter Innocent of Mother’s Actions

As to Han So-hee, she has distanced herself from her mother publicly, with a spokesperson saying that the case was only concerning her mother and her own actions and had nothing to do with the actress herself.

Han So-hee is a 31-year-old star in South Korea, and has won multiple awards, and starred in such popular K-dramas as Gyeongseong Creature, My Name, Nevertheless, and others.