Famous Internet Broadcaster Confesses to Illegal Gambling, Says He’ll Turn Himself In to Police
Internet broadcaster Cheol Gu (real name Lee Ye Jun) has confessed to illegal overseas gambling and use of illegal private loans, revealing plans to turn himself in to police.
During a livestream on the broadcasting platform SOOP in the early hours of July 28, Cheol Gu said, “I’ve been gambling in the Philippines since the year before last,” adding, “I’m going to go to the police station at 8 a.m. today and turn myself in. It’s also true that I used illegal loans. I’m sorry.”
He revealed that during that period he spent more than 1 billion won (about $670,000) on gambling in a single week. Cheol Gu explained, “Once I got hooked on gambling and things became unmanageable, I borrowed money from a so-called ‘big hand’ backer at a high weekly interest rate of 10%,” adding, “I kept rolling the debt over, paying back the interest on top of the principal the following week.”
He continued, “The situation got even worse recently when I had to pay 6 billion won (about $4 million) in value-added tax,” and said, “To avoid having my accounts seized, I also borrowed money from people around me.”
Cheol Gu also disclosed the names and amounts of fellow BJs who had lent him money. He said, “K lent me 2.3 billion won (about $1.54 million), and I’ve paid back about 500 to 600 million won (roughly $340,000 to $400,000) of that,” adding, “Jjapgu also lent me 2 billion won (about $1.34 million), and Kim In Ho helped me out as well.”
He also addressed the issue of unpaid settlements for performers on the “Excel Broadcast” he currently runs. Cheol Gu said he had been unable to pay out earnings owed to female BJs, claiming, “Through an introduction from the ‘big hand,’ I signed a business agreement with a KOSDAQ-listed company to borrow 2 billion won interest-free for a year. The money was supposed to come in on the 24th, but it never did.”
He explained, “I ran around for three days trying to raise the settlement money, but I couldn’t get it,” adding, “As the settlement delays became known outside, it eventually led me to reveal the truth about the overseas gambling and illegal loans.”
He went on to apologize again, saying, “Both the illegal overseas gambling and the use of illegal loans are true. I will turn myself in to the police and accept a fitting punishment. Even if I have to serve prison time, I will pay back the debt somehow.”
Following Cheol Gu’s confession, past remarks he made about his gambling addiction are drawing renewed attention. In a 2017 YouTube video, he underwent counseling with a gambling addiction therapist invited by his then-wife, BJ Oe Jil Hye.
At the time, when asked how much money he had lost to gambling, Cheol Gu honestly answered, “1 hundred million won.” Later, during a sleep therapy session, when asked, “Could you stop if the people around you told you to stop gambling?” he said, “I have to do it. I feel my best when I’m gambling.”
Meanwhile, Cheol Gu was a professional StarCraft gamer before retiring in 2008 and transitioning into internet broadcasting. He became known as one of the first-generation star BJs, setting the record for the most star balloons received on AfricaTV, but has also been embroiled in repeated controversies over explicit, violent broadcasts and various remarks.
Cheol Gu married BJ Oe Jil Hye in 2016 and has one daughter with her; the two divorced in 2021. With Cheol Gu having admitted to the overseas gambling and illegal loans himself and announced plans to turn himself in, attention is now turning to the results of the upcoming police investigation.
Source: (A)
