NK hackers-gambling sites

SEOUL, Nov. 12 (Yonhap) -- Three members of a criminal ring were sentenced to prison terms on Thursday for collaborating with North Korean hackers to create and distribute illegal gambling websites in South Korea.

The Seoul Central District Court sentenced one member of the criminal ring to four years in prison and a four-year suspension of qualifications after finding him guilty of violating the National Security Act and operating illegal gambling sites.

The two other ring members indicted in the same case were both sentenced to three years in prison, while one of them also received a three-year suspension of qualifications.

The three individuals were brought to trial as accomplices to the ringleader, surnamed Kim, who was convicted of the same offenses in September and sentenced to five years in prison and a five-year suspension of qualifications.

Kim was found guilty of creating 16 illegal gambling sites in collaboration with North Korean hackers between 2022 and 2024 and selling them to domestic gambling site operators. Kim earned about 23.5 billion won (US$17.6 million) from the sales and transferred more than 7 billion won, or roughly 30 percent of the proceeds, to North Korean hackers.

The three accomplices were accused of helping Kim distribute the illegal gambling sites.

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