Actress Hwang Jung Eum, who has been indicted on charges of embezzling company funds, has reportedly repaid about two-thirds of the total embezzled amount.

On May 19th KST, her legal representative, attorney Kim Chi Woong, stated, “The outstanding amount exceeds 1 billion KRW (approx. 718,000 USD), and she plans to repay the remaining balance as quickly as possible.”

He explained, “Most of the creditors are banks, and since most of the real estate is under secured mortgages, there shouldn’t be significant difficulty in repaying the debt. We are working to resolve the matter before the next hearing.”

He added, “Regardless of the court’s decision regarding the legal definition of embezzlement, she is committed to fulfilling her repayment obligations in full.”

Hwang Jung Eum is accused of receiving 700 million KRW (approx. 500,000 USD) in advance payments under her 100%-owned one-person agency in 2022 and using the funds for cryptocurrency investment. She has been indicted without detention on charges of embezzling a total of 4.34 billion KRW (approx. 3.1 million USD) by December 2022, with approximately 4.2 billion KRW allegedly invested in crypto assets.

At her first hearing on May 15th, Hwang acknowledged all charges.

Her lawyer argued during the trial, “The income of the company came from the defendant’s individual activities. She has already repaid part of the losses by selling cryptocurrency assets and plans to cover the remainder through real estate sales. We ask the court to take her intentions into account.”

In an official statement, Hwang Jung Eum explained, “I wanted to grow the company and invested in cryptocurrency without sufficient knowledge or experience. While the funds were under the company’s name, I believed they were income I had personally earned through my own work.”

The court is expected to reconvene in August to review the repayment progress. If the case proceeds to sentencing at that time, prosecutors are expected to immediately present their sentencing recommendation.

SEE ALSO: K-netizens react to Hwang Jung Eum embezzling her company funds to invest in cryptocurrency