On March 16, MBC’s “News Desk” released a report about financial issues surrounding a building owned by former S.E.S. member Shoo.

In February 2019, Shoo was charged with gambling millions of won in a casino in Macao several times over the past year. She was sentenced to two years of probation, with the possibility of a six-month prison sentence if she violates the terms of her probation, and 80 hours of community service.

Shoo’s case first came to light when a newspaper reported in August 2018 that a former girl group member had been sued by acquaintances for not paying back the money she had borrowed for the purpose of gambling. Shoo confirmed that she was the girl group member in the report shortly afterward. In December 2018, prosecutors indicted Shoo on the suspicion of habitual gambling, but dismissed her other charges on fraud and domestic gambling.

The report released on March 16, 2020 contains testimony from a resident in the multiplex housing building that Shoo owns in the city of Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. The resident’s name is Kim Ho Joong, a 36-year-old office worker who moved in to the building two years ago when he got married. At the time, Mr. Kim borrowed 92 million won (about $74,800) from the bank to pay Shoo a 115 million won (about $93,500) deposit.

Kim Ho Joong said, “At the time of the contract, Shoo appeared frequently on TV. The loan amount wasn’t very big, so I thought that it wouldn’t be a problem.”

After Mr. Kim and his wife had a child, they decided to move to a bigger apartment. In February 2019, they were selected for a rental unit in another building. However, Mr. Kim was told by Shoo that he could not get back his 115 million won deposit.

This is reportedly because Shoo is unable to get new tenants after the creditor who lent Shoo money for gambling purposes conducted a provisional seizure of her building.

After Mr. Kim’s lease ends next month, he has to pay back his loan to the bank, but he cannot pay it back without the return of the deposit. “If I don’t pay back the loan, I will become a delinquent borrower tomorrow,” he said. “How can I get my hands on almost 100 million won in a month?”

Other residents in the building were interviewed for the report. Among 21 households, two left without being able to get back their deposit. They were told that they had to wait because Shoo did not currently have the money to pay their deposits back.

One of the tenants, Lee Jae Sung, said, “I receive a monthly salary. If I get paid a lot, I make 3 million won (about $2,400) per month. I pay 1.5 million won per month for my loan interest rate… In order to resolve that loan, I might have to take out a private loan…”

Shoo’s representatives stated in response that they will resolve issues with tenants as soon as they win their lawsuit to cancel the provisional seizure made by Shoo’s creditor. The representative stated, “We are working hard and will continue to work hard to resolve these problems.”

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