Many were confused and shocked when Shin Jung Hwan seemed to go AWOL from three variety program recordings that he was supposed to be involved with. It seemed like a mystery as no one was claiming to know where he was, well it has now been revealed that he was detained in the Philippines!

SBS Evening News reported, “Shin Jung Hwan is in detention in the Philippines because of gambling debts. He has been gone for four days without any explanation. After checking with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it was revealed that he is residing in a casino hotel in the Philippines.”

A related source said, “Shin will not be able to return anytime soon. He can’t afford to take the plane back to Korea. He gave his passport to a loan agent and loaned out money to gamble with. But now, he has been detained in the hotel because he can’t get his passport back.”

His company is avoiding giving an explanation, stating that, “It’s a personal problem.”

An insider said, “Shin Jung Hwan has a lot of gambling debt. His salary from shows have been taken away as well. It won’t be easy for him to pay off the gambling money.”

Shin Jung Hwan was also in a drama over gambling back in 2005 but had redeemed himself, after getting himself in the same predicament, what will this do for his career? Either way, don’t expect him on television any time soon.

Cr: Hellokpop