Singer rejects gambling rumor
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Singer Tae Jin-ah speaks in a news conference in Yongsan, central Seoul, Tuesday.
By Lee Min-hyung
Singer Tae Jin-ah has dismissed a rumor that he indulged in illegal gambling in the U.S.
“I have never spent hundreds of millions won on illegal gambling,” he said at a news conference Tuesday.
His anger came a week after weekly magazine Sisa Journal USA published an article that claimed Tae visited a casino in Los Angeles and might have spent tens of millions of won in a day.
Tae’s lawyer said: “We will take legal measures against the media. All the evidence that we released today will be submitted to investigation authorities.”
He said Tae made about $7,000 gambling at the casinos during his one-week trip to the U.S.
Tae and his lawyer also released a recording of a telephone conversation between Tae’s acquaintance, Howard Park, and a Sisa representative.
In the recording, the representative asked Tae for at least $200,000 in return for not publishing the article.
“(If it is published,) Tae’s life will be ruined,” he said.
The report also said that Tae pulled his hat over his face so no one could recognize him.
To counter their argument, Tae called the manager of the casino he visited.
“Tae politely greeted his fans and willingly signed autographs for them,” the manager said.
But Tae made a public apology for causing controversy.
“I feel victimized,” he said. “But for whatever reason, I apologize for stirring up a controversy.”
Following the news conference, a production team from SBS TV show “One Night of TV Entertainment” tried a telephone interview with the reporter who wrote the article.
Asked about the office location, he said it was in Korea Town in Los Angeles.
But when the production team went to the office, the reporter was not there.
“The main office of Sisa Journal USA is here, but it doesn’t actually work at this office,” a worker at the office said.
Tae, 63, made his debut in 1973 and is one of the most famous singers of “trot” - a genre of Korean pop music.