State prosecutors said Friday it is seeking suspended jail terms for singer Tony An, Tak Jae-hoon and comedian Lee Soo-geun after the three admitted to betting on illegal sports gambling websites.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office demanded that An be sentenced to 10 months in prison, suspended for two years. For Tak and Lee, prosecutors sought eight and six months behind bars, respectively, suspended for two years each.

“It has been taken into account that all of the defendants have confessed to their crimes and expressed their regrets,” the prosecution said at the case hearing.

All three celebrities have pleaded guilty to their charges and asked the court for lenient punishment. “For the past few months, I was so ashamed and have felt apologetic toward my fans. I will make sure this never happens again,” An said.

Lee’s attorney said that the comedian failed to realize that the betting was a crime. Tak said he deeply regretted the past mistake and vowed to show “role model behavior” from now on.

The defendants were indicted last month on the charge of betting hundreds of millions of won on English Premier League soccer games via unauthorized gambling mediums.

They are scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 27.



By Yoon Min-sik
(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)