The South Korean comedian Lee Jin-ho's gambling scandal

South Korean comedian Lee Jin-ho has been involved in a gambling scandal that shook the nation. It was revealed that he had even cheated several celebrities out of their money, including BTS’ Jimin, to fuel his illegal gambling habit.

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Lee Jin-ho is a South Korean comedian who has been active in South Korea’s comedy scene since the early 2000s.

Born on April 15, 1986, in Gyeonggi Province, Seoul, South Korea, Lee Jin-ho had known that he wanted to pursue comedy early on and had obtained an associate’s degree in Gag sitcom from the Seoul Comprehensive Arts Practical School, reports Namu.

Lee Jin-ho made his debut on TV in 2005 when he appeared on an SBS open call for comedians in the show ‘People Looking for a Laugh’, reports Namu.

Since then, Lee Jin-ho has become quite the successful comedian and has become a rather prominent household name in South Korea.

Other than ‘Knowing Bros’, Lee Jin-ho is best known for his regular appearances in many other variety TV shows.

Other than his focus in comedy shows, Lee Jin-ho has also made several appearances in other work such as the TV dramas ‘King the Land’, and ‘Angry Mom’.

Being such a well-known and beloved comedian in the K-entertainment scene, it came as a shock to many when Lee Jin-ho was reported by multiple news outlets, such as Allkpop, on October 14, 2024, to have borrowed exorbitant amounts of money from many celebrities and loan sharks.

According to the Allkpop article, Lee Jin-ho would borrow large sums of money for "urgent" "financial support" without mentioning what they were for, and he had not returned the majority of the money he had borrowed from his numerous victims.

Channel News Asia reports that some of Lee Jin-ho’s celebrity victims include BTS’ Jimin and the singer Young Tak. TenAsia has included a bigger list, naming fellow comedian Lee Soo-geun as a major victim and the singer Ha Seung-woon.

The TenAsia report went into greater detail about Lee Jin-ho's exploitation of Lee Soo-geun, claiming that the latter had even used Lee Soo-geun's name to borrow more money from others, entangling him in a slew of other debts, financial and emotional damage that he had to bear as a result of Lee Jin-ho's actions.

Image: Netflix

Allkpop reports too that Lee Jin-ho also had many non-celebrities among his victims, which included staff members from several broadcasting stations.

Only after the exposé did Lee Jin-ho eventually admit on Instagram why he borrowed so much money and failed to repay it. According to The Korea Times, the comedian confessed that the money was intended to fuel his illicit gambling habit, which he had developed since 2020.

Allkpop reported that Lee Jin-ho’s agency, SM C&C, had long been aware of their star’s severe gambling debts, as many creditors had personally come to the agency to demand the return of money.

The report continues stating that despite the scandal, SM C&C had still allowed for Lee Jin-ho to continue on and take on work projects such as the upcoming Netflix show ‘Comedy Revenge’, and allowed for Lee Jin-ho to expand his network of victims by entering into more projects.

Since the revelation of the scandal, Lee Jin-ho had to step from his regular position as a cast member for ‘Knowing Bros’ and will be edited out of “as many previously filmed content as possible” reports Soompi. Wikitree reports that he had also lost his ambassadorship position for his hometown of Hwaseong City.

According to a report by Maeil Business News in late October 2024, police got involved with the issue to conduct an official investigation into allegations of illegal gambling and "borrowing money fraud." A public petition submitted by members of the public to the South Korean National Newspaper served as a spark for the police inquiry.