Actor Hwang Jung-eum was sentenced to a suspended prison term on charges of embezzling about 4.3 billion won in company funds, and the verdict was finalized after she gave up her appeal.
According to the legal community on the 4th, neither Hwang Jung-eum's side nor the prosecution filed an appeal against the first-instance ruling that sentenced her to two years in prison with a four-year suspended sentence, so the sentence was confirmed as is.
Earlier, Hwang Jung-eum was accused of embezzling about 4.2 billion won in funds from Hunminjeongeum Entertainment in 2022. Hunminjeongeum Entertainment is a family agency in which Hwang Jung-eum owns 100% equity, and the only affiliated entertainer is Hwang Jung-eum.
She is accused of embezzling about 4.3 billion won from the agency she is the actual owner of. In July 2022, after borrowing 80 million won in the agency's name, she transferred 70 million won that was in the agency's account to her personal account as an advance payment and invested it in cryptocurrency. Using the same method, it was later revealed that by October she had invested more than 4.2 billion won of the company's 4.36 billion won in cryptocurrency over a total of 13 transactions.
In addition, it is known that she used embezzled funds to pay a card bill of 4.44 million won and stock-backed loan interest of 1 million won for the purpose of paying property tax and local government tax imposed on her. Regarding this, Hwang Jung-eum acknowledged all the charges during the trial, and she stated that the amounts taken from Hunminjeongeum Entertainment in the form of advance payments were fully repaid in two installments on May 30 and June 5.
Last month, the Jeju District Court criminal division 2 (Chief Judge Im Jae-nam) sentenced Hwang Jung-eum, who was tried on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (embezzlement), to two years in prison with a four-year suspended sentence.
Hwang Jung-eum, who shed tears during the sentencing, also cried as she left the courtroom. Meeting reporters afterward, she said, "I'm sorry for causing concern. I had never even been near a police station before, so I cried when I heard the sentencing result," and offered a brief statement.
[Photo] OSEN DB
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