Actor Hwang Jung-eum, who is on trial for allegedly embezzling 4.3 billion won from a family corporation and investing it in cryptocurrency, will be edited out of the entertainment program 'Solo Because.'
The production team of SBS Plus and E Channel's 'Solo Because' said on the 20th, "There will be no VCR of Hwang Jung-eum in today's broadcast, and we plan to minimize the MC's remarks." 'Solo Because' will conclude on this day after 20 episodes.
Previously, on the 13th, Hwang Jung-eum acknowledged all the charges in a trial for violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, which was held in the 2nd Criminal Division of the Jeju District Court (Director General Lim Jae-nam). Hwang is known to have embezzled about 4.344 billion won from a family corporation in which she held 100% equity until December 2022, of which 4.2 billion won was invested in virtual currency.
In court, Hwang Jung-eum's attorney said, "I invested in cryptocurrency with the intention of growing the company, and since the corporation could not directly hold coins, I temporarily invested in my name, which led to this incident." The attorney also noted that "most of the agency's revenue was generated through the defendant's entertainment activities, thus it is substantially attributable to the defendant," adding, "We sold some coins to repay part of the damage and plan to pay off the remaining amount by disposing of the real estate we hold."
Meanwhile, on the same day, Hwang Jung-eum's side announced that they are currently settling the problematic amount. Her agency, Y1 Entertainment, stated, "We are in the process of settling a significant portion of the amount after repayment, and we will do our utmost to complete the procedure." The specific amount of the unpaid debt was not mentioned.
However, Hwang Jung-eum's legal representative, attorney Kim Chi-woong, told YTN, "The amount that we currently need to repay exceeds 1 billion won, and we plan to repay the remaining amount as quickly as possible." He added, "The creditors are mostly banks, and since collateral is set on most properties, it seems there will be no significant issues with repayment," and noted, "We are working to resolve it as much as possible before the next trial."