Three Thai nationals involved in the operation of illegal gambling sites while illegally staying in South Korea have been convicted, the Gwangju District Court ruled Friday.

The court gave two defendants suspended sentences of 1 1/2 years in prison term and a suspended sentence of four months in prison term to the third. They were convicted of creating online gambling spaces in Thai and handling money for use in gambling.

The criminals were tasked with collecting and distributing money in Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju over the past two years, under the supervision of another Thai national, who runs an illegal gambling site targeting people in Thailand. Police are still pursuing the fourth suspect.

About 3 billion won ($2.3 million) was collected through online gambling sites. Most of the money was withdrawn and either distributed as winnings or as profits for the operators.

By Lee Jung-youn ([email protected])