Actress Hwang Jung Eum has appeared in court on charges of embezzling company funds she effectively controlled, investing the money into cryptocurrency.

On the 15th, Judge Lim Jae Nam of the 2nd Criminal Division at Jeju District Court held the first hearing in the case against 41-year-old Hwang Jung Eum, who faces charges of embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.

According to the indictment, Hwang Jung Eum was accused of embezzling approximately 4.34 billion KRW (about $3.097 million) from her management agency, which she is known to fully own through a family corporation. Around early 2022, she allegedly took 700 million KRW (about $499,536)  of company loan funds under the pretext of a temporary payment and invested it in cryptocurrency. By December 2022, she is accused of misappropriating the total funds.

It was revealed that about 4.2 billion KRW (about $3.002 million) of the embezzled amount was invested in cryptocurrency.

Hwang Jung Eum admitted to the charges during the hearing. Her legal counsel stated, “There is no dispute regarding the facts of the case. However, the defendant invested in cryptocurrency with the intention of growing the company. Since the corporation could not directly hold cryptocurrencies, the investments were temporarily made under her name, which led to the current charges.”

The defense added, “As the agency’s profits stem from the defendant’s activities, the income ultimately belongs to her. The cryptocurrencies have been sold, and some of the damages have been compensated. The remaining amount will be repaid through the sale of real estate. We ask the court to take these circumstances and the motive into consideration.”

Hwang Jung Eum’s team also requested a continuation to arrange for full restitution of the damages, which the court accepted.

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