A SEOUL court has fined newly-signed U.S. Major League Baseball (MLB) side St. Louis Cardinals’ reliever Seung Hwan-oh 10 million won (US$8,300) for breaking South Korean gambling laws by betting heavily at a Macao casino.

    Former Chicago Cubs pitcher Lim Chang-yong, Oh’s ex-teammate with South Korean club Samsung Lions, was also fined the same amount, according to spokesman Joon Young-maeng at the Seoul Central District Court yesterday.

    The Korean Baseball Organization earlier hit both players with half-season bans after prosecutors charged them for betting around 40 million won (US$33,000) each at a casino in Macao in 2014.

    South Korea has strict gambling laws, and has only one domestic casino for locals while 16 others only admit foreigners. South Koreans are banned from betting large sums of money at venues other than the designated local casino.

    Oh, 33, signed with the Cardinals earlier this month on a one-year contract with a club option for a second year. In 498 career games in South Korea and Japan, Oh is 32-20 with a 1.81 ERA with 772 strikeouts in 646 1-3 innings. He was also a member of the Gold medal-winning South Korean Olympics team in 2008 and represented the country in the World Baseball Classic in 2006, 2009 and 2013.

    (SD-Agencies)