YG ENTERTAINMENT GAMBLING SCANDAL

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Police have asked the prosecution to charge former YG Entertainment chief Yang Hyun-suk and former Big Bang member Seungri for habitual gambling. However, investigators have concluded that there were no evidence of illegal foreign currency exchanges or of using company money for illegal gambling.

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Police have been investigating former YG Entertainment executive producer Yang Hyun-suk and former Big Bang member Seungri for habitual gambling. After a two-month probe, the police have decided to send their cases over to the prosecution to be indicted. Police investigation revealed that they each engaged in gambling activities on nearly 10 occasions over the past five years. Yang reportedly gambled away several hundreds of million won while Seungri spent over one billion won on gambling. However, looking at the sheer frequency, Yang had engaged in more gambling activities than Seungri. During two rounds of police investigation, the two admitted to gambling but denied that it was habitual. Police also concluded that they did not use any illegal means to fund their gambling money.

[Soundbite] YANG HYUN-SUK(FORMER YG ENTERTAINMENT HEAD PRODUCER(OCT. 2)) : "(You are accused of using company money for gambling.) That's not true."

The two celebrities had also been investigated for allegedly violating the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act. They were accused of borrowing foreign money overseas and paying it back in Korean currency in Korea to fund their gambling activities. The investigators said that their bank accounts were analyzed, but no evidence of illegal currency exchange activities were found. Also, the police could not find any evidence of Yang using the money from theAmerican branch of YG Entertainment to support his gambling. Yang used money borrowed from his friends while Seungri utilized the casino credit system provided by Las Vegas hotel casinos. The police also plans to detain three of Yang's friends who gambled with him on the charges of habitual gambling and send them over to the prosecution for indictment.