6 percent of Korean adults are gambling addicts!
More than 6 percent of Korean adults are gambling addicts. Korea Leisure Industry Center said that some 2,400,000 Koreans or 6.6 percent of the adult population were addicted to gambling as of December last year. Among them, 79.2 percent were men while 33 percent were in their 40s. While blue-collar workers made up 54.2 percent of the total, white-collar workers were 16.7 percent. Crimes by gamblers such as homicide, robbery, burglary, and violence are increasing. Thirty-five percent of thefts and 40 percent of non-violent crimes were related to online gambling. 
Seo Chun-bum, a director of Korea Leisure Industry Center, said the figure is now estimated to be much more higher, after “Sea Story,¡¯¡¯ a gambling scandal that shocked the nation last summer. Seo added that the legal gambling industry has suffered from decreasing income since 2004, and pointed out the growing number of illegal game rooms are the main reasons for the trend. He also stressed that the government needs to get involved in the gambling industry more aggressively. Pastor Kim Kyu-ho also said that he will protest against lawyers who show a timid approach to gambling issues.