'Arena Real Owner Sentenced to 9 Years in Prison and Fined 55 Billion Won for Hundreds of Billions in Tax Evasion in First Trial'

Court: "Crime committed over a long period... Bribery given during investigation process"

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] Kang Mo, the former actual owner of the famous Gangnam club ‘Arena,’ was sentenced to a heavy punishment in the first trial for tax evasion charges.

The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 25-2 (Chief Judge Park Jeong-je) on the 28th sentenced Kang, who was indicted for tax evasion under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, to 9 years in prison and a fine of 55 billion KRW. Im Mo, the former nominal representative of the club who was tried together, was sentenced to 3 years in prison and fined 22 billion KRW, and was taken into custody in court.

Kang and Im are accused of not paying hundreds of millions of won in taxes from 2014 to 2017 by methods such as underreporting cash sales and inflating employee salaries while operating Arena.

They are also accused of bribing two police officers in charge with 35 million KRW in exchange for covering up the case when an investigation was launched because minors had entered the club.

The court criticized, "They operated two clubs and 13 entertainment bars, evaded comprehensive income tax and value-added tax through business disguise, registration under a borrowed name, and omission of cash sales," adding, "The crimes were committed over a long period, and the total evaded amount was large at 54.1 billion KRW."

It also stated, "They bribed the officers in charge to request a dismissal of charges related to the entertainment bars," concluding that "strict punishment is inevitable."

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