Hook Entertainment CEO Kwon Jin Young has been given a suspended prison sentence in a first-trial ruling.
On April 3, the 12th Criminal Division of the Seoul Southern District Court (Presiding Judge Park Jong Yeol) sentenced Kwon to two years in prison, suspended for four years, on charges including embezzlement and breach of trust under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.
Kwon was accused of misappropriating billions of won in company funds for personal use. The court stated, “Exercising control over a company to arbitrarily misuse its assets is socially unacceptable and cannot be considered a minor offense.”
The court added, “Even a single-person company can cause unexpected harm to others associated with it, requiring stricter management,” but explained the sentencing by noting, “The defendant has admitted to the charges, and all damages have been fully recovered through restitution or deposits.”
In 2022, this publication obtained records of Kwon Jin Young’s corporate card usage and reported that approximately 2.6 billion KRW (approx. 1.7 million USD) had been misused over six years. Detailed expenditures included luxury shopping, providing corporate cards to family and acquaintances, and covering private travel expenses.
The report led to a prosecution investigation, and Kwon was indicted in October last year. Investigators later found that from 2012 to 2022, Kwon had used around 4 billion KRW (approx. 2.65 million USD) of Hook Entertainment funds for personal purposes, including purchasing furniture and paying insurance premiums.
Meanwhile, Kwon is also currently on trial for allegedly obtaining illegal prescriptions for sleeping pills through an employee.
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