Actress Hwang Jung-eum is facing a potential prison sentence after prosecutors requested a three-year jail term on charges of embezzling funds from her own management company.
According to legal sources on August 21, the Jeju District Prosecutors’ Office sought the sentence during the final hearing at the Jeju District Court’s Criminal Division 2. Hwang Jung-eum was indicted without detention for violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (embezzlement).
Hwang Jung-eum was accused of misappropriating approximately ₩4.34 billion (about $3.2 million USD) from her family-owned agency, Hunminjeongeum Entertainment, between early 2022 and December of the same year. Reports revealed that she invested ₩4.2 billion of the embezzled funds into cryptocurrency.
During the first hearing in May, Hwang Jung-eum admitted to all charges. By May 30 and June 5, she had fully repaid the embezzled amount in two installments, according to her agency, and submitted documentation to the court as proof.
In a previous statement, Hwang Jung-eum explained her actions:
“I established an entertainment agency to manage my career, with hopes of expanding the company. Around 2021, I was advised by someone to grow company funds through cryptocurrency investments. Although the funds were under the company’s name, they came from profits I earned through my activities. It was a poor and immature decision.”
Hwang Jung-eum, best known for her roles in popular dramas such as Kill Me, Heal Me and She Was Pretty, now awaits her sentencing, scheduled to take place in September.
This high-profile case has drawn public attention not only for the large sum involved but also because it centers on one of Korea’s most recognizable actresses.
Sources: 네이트 뉴스
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