A Real-Life 'Jekyll and Hyde' Case... A Company Worker by Day, What by Night? [True Story]

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[Financial News]'Seolleim,' 'Cream.'At first glance, they looked like ordinary site names. In reality, they were online gambling platforms where illegal betting worth hundreds of millions of won took place.
A 40-year-old man identified as A, who appeared to be an ordinary office worker, ran illegal gambling sites for a year with members of the group while moving offices around Gangnam and Songpa in Seoul. Users placed bets by predicting numbers and odd-even results, while the operators managed deposits, exchanges, and payout of winnings.
According to the ruling obtained by Financial News on the 31st, A was indicted on charges of operating illegal gambling sites from February 2021 to February 2022 in collusion with group members B, C, and others.
From February 16, 2021, to June 6 of the same year, A and his group operated the illegal gambling site 'Seolleim' from an office in Gangnam District, Seoul. The site worked in a manner similar to Donghaeng Lottery's 'Powerball.' Users bet money by predicting six-digit numbers, the sum of the numbers, and whether the result would be odd or even. Those who guessed correctly received payouts.
Roles within the group were also divided. B, who served as the overall leader, handled fundraising, site construction, and member recruitment. A and C, following B's instructions, secured office space and took charge of recruiting members, depositing and exchanging betting funds, site management, and settling profits.
Even after one round of operations was halted, the illegal gambling continued. According to the ruling, B stopped operating the existing Seolleim site around July 2021, then decided to move offices and restart the site.
After that, A and his group resumed operations in September 2021. They restarted the existing 'Seolleim' site and, around December 2021, launched another illegal gambling site called 'Cream.'
The locations kept changing as well. A and his group moved between an apartment office in Songpa District and an office in a building in Gangdong District, continuing to recruit members, handle deposits and exchanges, and operate the sites.
Prosecutors charged A with opening a gambling venue. The offense applies when a space or system for gambling is set up and operated for profit. It covers not only real-world casinos but also the construction and operation of online gambling sites.
In the end, the Criminal Division 3, Single Judge Panel of the Seoul Eastern District Court (Judge Ahn Hee-kyung) sentenced A to one year in prison on the 15th and ordered the forfeiture of 11 million won in criminal proceeds.
The court noted, "The defendant committed this crime again even though he had already received two suspended prison terms for similar offenses, and his level of involvement in operating the gambling sites was also significant."
A had already received a final sentence in December 2024 from the Suwon District Court, which gave him one year and six months in prison, suspended for three years, for violating the Special Act on the Prevention of Loss Caused by Telecommunications-Based Financial Fraud and Refund of Victim Funds.
However, the court took into account several mitigating factors, including A's admission of the crimes, the relatively small amount of profit he gained, and the fact that this case was in a concurrent-offense relationship under criminal law with the offense for which he had already received a final judgment, meaning fairness had to be considered as if the cases had been tried together.
yesji@fnnews.com Kim Ye-ji Reporter