On September 25, the Jeju District Court’s Criminal Division 2, presided over by Judge Im Jae-nam, sentenced Hwang Jung Eum to two years in prison with a four-year suspension for violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (embezzlement).

Hwang was accused of embezzling ₩4.34 billion from Hunminjeongeum Entertainment, an agency in which she owns 100% of the shares. In July 2022, she borrowed ₩800 million under the agency’s name, then transferred ₩700 million from the company account to her personal account under the guise of temporary payments, which she invested in cryptocurrency.

From July to October of the same year, she allegedly repeated the process 13 times, investing over ₩4.2 billion of company funds into cryptocurrency. Reports also revealed that she used some of the embezzled money to pay property and local taxes, as well as credit card bills and stock mortgage loans.

At her first trial in May, Hwang admitted to all charges. She had also repaid ₩3 billion of the funds she had withdrawn as temporary payments. During the final trial in August, prosecutors requested a three-year prison sentence.

The court ultimately considered her repayment efforts and cooperation in sentencing her to a suspended term rather than immediate imprisonment.

Sources: Daum