Shin Jung-hwan files appeal against jail term

Shin Jung-hwan [MBC]

Singer-turned-TV personality Shin Jung-hwan has appealed against a judge's decision to send him to jail for eight months.

Shin, 36, pleaded guilty last Friday to charges of habitual gambling, strictly prohibited of Koreans both home and when overseas, and was immediately put under court custody but he appealed to the ruling on Tuesday through his legal representative, an official at Shin's agency IS Entermedia Group said.

The official then added that Shin "is repenting on his wrongdoing and acknowledges that the nature of his crime is bad" but that he filed for appeal because he needs to receive consistent treatment to his leg.

"He had been getting treatment once every two days, his doctor has said he will have to be treated for the rest of his life, so he'll be disabled forever if he doesn't get treatment," the official said of the reason for the appeal.

Shin, who injured his leg in 2009 from a motorcycle accident, underwent surgery for the injury in February of this year after his condition worsened while on the run overseas from authorities who were trying to track him down for his crime since last September.

Shin has a history of gambling and he gambled away more than 200 million won at a hotel in the Philippines last year but he continued to gamble even after his problem came into light and hid from police for five months until returning home in January of this year.

This has cost him his highly successful career as a show host in Korea -- he had been one of the most sought-out figures in show biz, appearing in almost half a dozen programs.

※ Any copying, republication or redistribution of 10Asia's content is expressly prohibited without prior consent of 10Asia. Copyright infringement is subject to criminal and civil penalties.

Reporter : Kim Myung-hyun
Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@