Actress Hwang Jung-eum has been embroiled in controversy while in the midst of a divorce lawsuit with her reconciled husband.
On the 15th, the Director General Lim Jae-nam of the 2nd Criminal Division of the Jeju District Court held the first trial for Hwang Jung-eum, who was indicted on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes (embezzlement).
According to the indictment, Hwang Jung-eum was indicted without detention on charges of embezzling about 4.34 billion won of company funds, including 700 million won that she received as an advance payment from the funds her agency borrowed, until December 2022.
The affected agency is identified as a family corporation wholly owned by Hwang Jung-eum, and it has been revealed that she invested around 4.2 billion won of the embezzled amount in cryptocurrency. In relation to this, Hwang Jung-eum's side acknowledged the indictment and requested the continuation of proceedings to repay the damages, which the court accepted.
Hwang Jung-eum's side noted regarding the charges, "The defendant was compelled to invest in coins with the thought of growing the company, and since the corporation could not hold coins, she temporarily invested in her name, which led to this incident."
They continued, "The revenue of the agency ultimately accrues to the defendant as it arises from her activities. She sold some coins to repay part of the damages and intends to repay the rest by selling real estate, so please consider the motivation behind her actions."
However, Hwang Jung-eum's agency, Y One Entertainment, stated to OSEN that they are "in the process of confirming" the situation, and a representative from the SBS Plus and T-Cast E-channel variety program 'Because I'm Single' said to OSEN, "We are currently verifying the controversy regarding Hwang Jung-eum and have asked her agency for accurate confirmation regarding the related matters. The production team is also waiting for the agency's response, and the editing direction will be determined based on that content."
Meanwhile, Hwang Jung-eum married businessman Lee Young-don, a former professional golfer, in 2016 and has two sons together. The couple, who had experienced a breakup, overcame it and reconciled, but they filed for divorce again in February of last year and are currently in the midst of that lawsuit.
In this process, Hwang Jung-eum mistakenly identified an unrelated woman as her husband's mistress and posted about it on social media. Eventually, Hwang Jung-eum had to apologize, stating, "I misunderstood an unrelated person as my husband's infidelity partner and transferred a post from a general person to my account, writing terms that could cause humiliation. The victims are unrelated individuals who have no acquaintance with my husband and are not the mistress."
Additionally, it was reported that she underwent a rigorous tax investigation by the National Tax Service in December of last year and was subjected to substantial tax reassessment. While the specifics behind the tax investigation regarding Hwang Jung-eum have not been confirmed, it is speculated to be part of the 'irregular comprehensive tax investigation for corporate business artist' targeting high asset individuals conducted by the Seoul National Tax Service's Investigation Bureau 2.
In response, her agency issued a statement saying, "Actress Hwang Jung-eum participated in the 2023 tax investigation by the National Tax Service, and due to differences in interpretation during discussions between the tax authorities and tax agents, she paid additional taxes that arose. As reported, there were no tax issues concerning the purchase and sale of properties, and we inform you that there has been no illicit tax evasion or any other misconduct."
Hwang Jung-eum has clarified that she is not a liable spouse through her two divorces, thus receiving an outpouring of public support. Although she had also begun a public romance and seemed confident in her new life post-divorce, her repeated controversies have caused some disappointment.
[Photo] OSEN DB
[OSEN]