K-pop star returns with album after Macau gambling scandal

K-pop star Shoo will release her first solo album in Japan next month, ending a year-long hiatus following a gambling scandal involving Macau casinos. The South Korean singer was charged with habitual gambling in foreign casinos and sentenced to six months in prison.
In August last year, Shoo was charged with gambling in foreign jurisdictions, including Macau, over a nearly two-year period from August 2016 to May 2018. She is said to have gambled 790 million Korean won (5.45 million patacas) in total.
Shoo was sentenced to six months in prison, with the sentence suspended for two years.
Casino gambling is illegal for South Korean nationals, even when they travel outside of the country.
The singer was also reportedly cleared of fraud charges regarding an alleged failure to repay a 600 million won loan she took out for the purposes of gambling. Shoo still faces a civil suit from one of lenders, according to The Korea Times.
The 37-year-old Shoo, also known as Yoo Soo-young, found fame in South Korea in the 1990s with girl band S.E.S.
Her album will be released in Japan next month, but it is still not known whether the singer plans to promote her album in Korea. According to The Korea Times, the singer has struggled to reconcile with the public over her gambling activities, with Korean society “still [giving] the cold shoulder to the scandal-hit singer.” DB