Los Angeles Man Sentenced to 22 Years in Prison for Extorting Karaoke Bars

Daekun Cho demanded protection money from Koreatown karaoke bar owners and local drivers, sometimes using violence against victims who refused.

A Koreatown sign on Olympic Boulevard in Los Angeles on April 20, 2022. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

LOS ANGELES—A man from the Woodland Hills neighborhood was sentenced Aug. 16 to 22 years and six months in prison for extorting Koreatown karaoke bar owners and drivers who transport party hostesses, sometimes violently attacking victims who refused to pay.

Daekun Cho, 39, was also ordered by U.S. District Judge Fernando L. Aenlle-Rochato to pay $240,167 in restitution and a special assessment of $5,700, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.