Comedian Kim Yong-man recently opened up about his past illegal gambling controversy.
On the 13th, a video titled “The God I Met, Are You Curious?” was uploaded to the YouTube channel ‘Sae-rop-ge-ha-so-seo’. In the video, Kim Yong-man is seen chatting with Joo Young-hoon, Song Ji-eun, and Lee Jung-soo.
During the conversation, Kim Yong-man brought up the illegal gambling controversy that surfaced in 2013. At the time, he was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, for using approximately 300 million won on illegal gambling over five years starting in 2008. Following this, he stepped away from broadcasting for two years before making his return in 2015.
Reflecting on the situation, Kim Yong-man shared, “After a certain incident, I admitted everything.” He added, “I thought I might be away for anywhere from five to ten years, or that I might never be able to return.”
He continued, “Once the news broke, I didn’t want my mother to find out through someone else, so I decided to call her and tell her myself.”
He recalled telling his mother, “Mom, something happened, so I’ll have to take a break from work for a while.” He expected a huge reaction, but she remained calm and said, “It must have been very hard for you. Don’t do anything else, just read the Book of Job.” Kim noted that while he had a public image of being a devout Christian, he hadn’t actually read a single verse of the Bible at the time.
“I read through the Book of Job while I was on hiatus, but even after finishing it, it was so difficult,” Kim shared. “I felt it was a message from my mother telling me to hold onto the Bible when I’m shaken, rather than doing other things.”
He also mentioned that many people called him immediately, inviting him to Bible study groups. He highlighted a call from Kim Won-hee, who told him, “Have you lived a good life until now? Now that this has happened, about 100 people are praying for you,” which caught the viewers’ attention.
