South Korean police have asked Interpol to help arrest Shin Jung-hwan, a singer-turned-TV personality suspected of gambling illegally at casinos in the Philippines.

The 35-year-old has remained overseas since late August despite repeated calls from the police for him to return to Korea for questioning. He is believed to be somewhere in Nepal, according to his aides.

Shin has denied the gambling allegations against him.

“We cannot wait until Shin’s voluntary return,” said a spokesman for the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. “We will soon cooperate with Interpol to bring him back.”

The spokesman said the latest conversation on the phone between the police and Shin was in mid-September, in which he said he was staying in Nepal. Currently, nobody is in contact with him.

“Neither his family members nor his manager knows anything about his whereabouts,” said the spokesman.

This is not the first time that Shin has been embroiled in gambling-related troubles. In 2005, he was slapped 7 million won in fines for gambling at a foreigner-only casino here.

Source: Park Si-soo @ The Korea Times