"Luxury Life Without Repaying 100 Million Won Debt"…Former Basketball Player Kim Seunghyun Sentenced to Prison

Former professional basketball player Kim Seung-hyun, who works as a commentator.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Kim Seung-hyun (42), a basketball commentator and former professional player, who was indicted for failing to repay 100 million won borrowed from a friend, has been sentenced to prison.

On the 16th, at the sentencing hearing presided over by Judge Bang Il-soo of the Criminal Division 5 at Suwon District Court Seongnam Branch, the prosecution requested a prison sentence of 1 year and 6 months for Kim.

Kim is accused of borrowing 100 million won from his longtime friend A in May 2018 during the process of raising funds related to a golf course acquisition project and failing to repay it until recently.

Friend A trusted Kim and lent the money without a promissory note, but when Kim did not repay the money as promised, A filed a complaint against Kim in December last year. However, Kim’s side stated that after the police investigation began, Kim repaid the entire 100 million won borrowed from A in several installments.

A’s lawyer claimed, "A filed the complaint because he was offended by Kim’s flaunting of a luxurious lifestyle on social media without any sign of remorse despite not repaying the money," and added, "Kim only repaid all the money after the prosecution transferred the case and the fact became public through the media."

In his final argument, Kim’s side explained, "At that time, Kim’s financial situation became difficult as he was looking for a newlywed home, which delayed the repayment," and requested, "Please take into account that he repaid all the borrowed money and also paid 7.8 million won in interest to prevent damages."

Kim also expressed in his final statement, "I feel sorry to my friend for not being able to repay for a long time."

Meanwhile, the sentencing trial for Kim is scheduled to be held on the 23rd.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.