Former Buddhist temple chief given suspended sentence for gambling in overseas casinos
A court found a former Beopju Temple chief monk guilty of habitual gambling at overseas casinos, citing repeated offenses and damage to public trust in religion.
The Cheongju District Court in North Chungcheong is seen in this 2015 file photo.
YONHAP
A former Buddhist monk was found guilty of gambling overseas, according to the Cheongju District Court on Wednesday.
The former chief monk of Beopju Temple was sentenced to 10 months in prison, suspended for two years, on charges of habitual gambling by the district court. The court also ordered him to complete 80 hours of community service and remain under probationary supervision.
The ex-chief monk was indicted for gambling 47 times at casinos abroad, including in Macau, where he played slot machines and baccarat between May 2015 and September 2019. He was also accused of abetting other monks to gamble at the temple in March 2018. Korean law legally prohibits citizens from gambling, even in countries where it is legal.
“I had never played baccarat, and that slot machines posed a relatively low risk of gambling addiction,” the chief monk argued during the proceedings. However, the court rejected his claims.
“It was confirmed that the defendant booked flights through casino personnel and once turned $100,000 into $110,000,” the court said. “It is also difficult to conclude that slot machines carry a low risk of gambling addiction.”
The court also noted that the chief monk committed the offenses despite his position, which required a high degree of moral integrity and respect for the law as the head monk of Beopju Temple, a temple with a long and storied history.
"This case is not merely a matter of personal misconduct,” the court said. “It carries the risk of damaging public trust in religion.”
The court said it considered that the former head monk had admitted to some of the charges, but also weighed the number of gambling incidents and a previous conviction for gambling in deciding the sentence.
However, the court acquitted him of the charge of aiding and abetting gambling by other monks at the temple who had previously been found not guilty in a separate trial.
BY KIM JI-HYE [[email protected]]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
