S. Korean Buddhist monks fined for gambling

SEOUL (AFP) - A South Korean court said on Friday it has fined two Buddhist monks for illegal gambling, after video footage of their high-stakes poker game sparked a scandal in religious circles.

The Seoul Central District Court on Thursday fined the monks from the Jogye Order, the country's largest Buddhist order, two million won ($2,210) each.

"The court only ordered fines because they showed remorse for what they had done," a court spokesman said.

Another monk who filmed the hotel room where the gambling session was held and an engineer who set up the camera were given suspended prison sentences for breaking into the room and damaging it while trying to install the camera.