The police said Friday that they are probing allegations that Yang Hyun-suk, former CEO and chief producer of K-pop entertainment powerhouse YG Entertainment, gambled overseas.
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(Yonhap) |
South Koreans are prohibited from gambling at home and abroad.
Upon a tip-off, the police are looking through Yang’s financial reports to investigate whether he secured his gambling funds through illegal foreign exchange transactions.
Yang, 49, is already under investigation on suspicions that he procured sexual services for two investors from Southeast Asia in 2014 at an adult entertainment establishment in southern Seoul.
According to news reports by local cable TV network JTBC, Yang visited the VIP room at MGM Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, on 11 occasions, and he is said to have bet over 1 billion won, losing around 600 million won. Big Bang star Seungri also visited the VIP room in the casino, and bet 2 billion won losing 1.3 billion won, it reported.
YG Entertainment did not comment on the allegations.
The police are set to summon both Yang and Seungri for questioning soon.
Yang came under scrutiny in the wake of the Burning Sun scandal involving former Big Bang star Seungri, who also faces allegations of having procured prostitutes for investors, as well as allegations of having embezzled company funds.
By Ock Hyun-ju (
laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)
