Gambling News by Gambling Headquarters

Prosecutors are tracing the bank account transactions of former Culture and Tourism Minister Chung Dong-chea as they investigate suspicions that government officials were bribed by businessmen looking for licenses to sell gift vouchers used as payouts in an illegal gambling scheme. A former assistant of Chung, identified only as Yoo, was arrested last month on charges of taking 137 million won ($149,000) from executives of CS Club Korea, one of the country's 19 companies authorized to issue the gift certificates used at adults-only game arcades. ``We are looking into Chung's financial transactions to confirm some suspicions. We have not found anything as of yet worth commenting on,'' said an official from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. ``We are looking into Chung's financial transactions to confirm some suspicions. We have not found anything as of yet worth commenting on,'' said an official from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. Since the end of August, the prosecution has mounted an investigation into allegations public officials at the Culture Ministry and its sub-organizations were lobbied by companies applying for licenses to sell game machines and gift vouchers. With the investigation entering its fourth month, prosecutors have arrested more than 30 government officials, businessmen and members of organized crime units involved in operating what were essentially gambling parlors. Baek Eeek, a former director at the Culture Ministry arrested for taking 35 million won from a gift voucher issuer, was sentenced to three years in prison and a fine of 36 million won by the Seoul Central District Court Wednesday. Chung, a lawmaker from the governing Uri Party, was at helm at the ministry from 2004 to March this year. During his tenure, the country saw the video slot machine empire grew beyond recognition, with the ministry loosening business restrictions on game arcades. Pressured by calls for an easier reviewing process, the ministry, under Chung, introduced a permit system for companies applying for licenses to sell the vouchers in March last year. The certification process allowed any applying company to issue the vouchers by meeting certain requirements in revenue and market coverage.

However, authorities were forced to scrap the new rating methods just three months later, after it was found that some companies obtained licenses by manipulating their sales records.

There have been suspicions that ministry officials rushed the introduction of the permit system after being lobbied by the companies.

Prosecutors are pushing their probe further into politicians, planning to summon Uri Party lawmaker Cho Seong-lae sometime next week for questioning about his relationship with the owner of Friends C&M, one of the voucher issuers. Investigators are currently tracing his bank account transactions.

Prosecutors could also call in Grand National Party (GNP) lawmaker Park Hyung-joon for the second time next week. Park was summoned Wednesday after it was found that he received 100 million won from a company issuing the vouchers to fund a culture event he chaired.

The Culture Ministry's decision in 2002 to allow arcades to provide certain types of gift certificates as payouts, has been widely blamed as the cause of the rapid expansion of gambling, with most arcades unlawfully trading the vouchers for cash.

Before the police clampdown in August, government authorities counted about 20,000 adults-only game arcades doing business around the country, most of them providing gambling games _ that is double the number of 24-hour convenience stores.

The recent gambling scandal first erupted in late July when prosecutors indicted the chief executives of the two companies that manufactured and distributed ``Pada Iyagi'' (Sea Story) video slot machines.

Most of the machines were illegally reprogrammed to allow higher payouts than the legal limit of 20,000 won. ``Pada Iyagi'' is the country's most popular slot machine game by far with more than 45,000 units sold.

Speculation of influence peddling mounted when it was found that Roh Ji-won, one of President Roh Moo-hyun's nephews, worked as an executive of a company acquired earlier this year by Zico Prime, the game's distributor.