Actress Hwang Jung-eum appeared in court on charges of embezzling funds from the planning agency she owns to invest in cryptocurrency.
On the 15th, Director General Lim Jae-nam of the Jeju District Court's 2nd Criminal Division held the first hearing on Hwang Jung-eum's case of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes (embezzlement).
According to the indictment, Hwang Jung-eum was charged with embezzling about 4.34 billion won of company funds until December 2022, including receiving 700 million won under the guise of advance payments from the funds borrowed by her planning agency around 2022.
The victimized planning agency is reportedly a family business in which Hwang Jung-eum holds 100% equity, and it has been revealed that Hwang Jung-eum invested about 4.2 billion won of the embezzled amount in cryptocurrency.
Hwang Jung-eum's side acknowledged the indictment and requested the continuation of payments to compensate for the damages, and the court accepted this.
Hwang Jung-eum's side noted, "However, the defendant invested in coins with the thought of trying to grow the company, and since the corporation could not hold the coins, the investment was temporarily made in the defendant's name, which led to the commission of this crime. There is also a circumstance that the revenue of the planning agency ultimately belongs to the defendant's activities. The coins were sold to repay part of the damage, and the remaining amount is also intended to be repaid through the sale of real estate, and we ask you to consider the motive for the crime."
In this regard, Hwang Jung-eum's agency said they are "in the process of confirming" and did not elaborate.
Meanwhile, Hwang Jung-eum is currently appearing in SBS Plus' "Solo Because" and others.
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