By Bae Keun-min Staff Reporter, the Korea Times
Police have caught about 13,000 people who habitually isit overseas Internet gambling sites, including a diplomat and a national university professor.
Using credit cards, they spent an estimated 12 billion won at some 50 gambling sites, according to police.
Of the suspects, police requested an arrest warrant for seven suspects on charges of habitual gambling, while 26 others, including a diplomat, identified as Kim, 41, were booked without physical detention.
The suspects subscribed to the sites and spent 12 billion won playing around 50,000 games.
Kim, a diplomat, is suspected of using credit cards 122 times, racking up 30 million won in total payments.
A national university professor, identified as Hong, 62, utilized his plastic cards 382 times to pay for his 26 million won worth of gambles on the Internet.
Of the seven facing imminent arrest, Yu, a 49-year-old unemployed man, squandered more than 100 million won.
Another suspect identified as Kang, 32, input her sibling¡¯s credit card number, spending 100 million won on cyber gambling, forcing her sibling to be listed as a credit delinquent, police said.
``The suspects range in age from around 30 to 70. We have selected people who spent more than 25 million won or paid more than 100 times, to face criminal charges,¡¯¡¯ police said.
Police estimated a total of 100 billion won had been leaked offshore due to gambling, including an estimated 25 billion won through online gambling.
Police have asked the Ministry of Information and Communication to shut the detected sites.
`We are seeing a rising number of cases where South Koreans register at overseas gambling sites under a foreigner's name. It's hard to control gambling sites registered abroad, police said.
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