A former K-pop star could end up behind bars due to her Macau casino activity potentially violating South Korea’s laws governing ‘habitual’ gambling.

This week, South Korean media reported that the actress/singer known professionally as Shoo, who formerly belonged to first-wave K-pop girl group S.E.S., could face up to three years in prison if convicted on charges that she lost KRW790m (US$707k) gambling in Macau casinos over a two-year period.

In August, Shoo confirmed that she was the subject of a civil action brought by two private lenders who claimed the singer had failed to repay KRW600m she was lent in June for gambling purposes in Paradise Co Ltd’s foreigners-only Paradise Walker Hill Casino in Seoul.

South Korean law prohibits local residents from gambling in any domestic casino other the Kangwon Land resort north of Seoul. However, Shoo was born in Japan and holds an overseas permanent resident card, which allowed her to cross the Paradise casino threshold.