Actress Hwang Jung-eum Sentenced to Suspended Prison Term for Embezzlement

Actress Hwang Jung-eum has received a prison sentence of two years, suspended for four years, on charges of embezzling company funds totaling approximately 4.2 billion KRW.

The Jeju District Court's Criminal Division 2 announced the verdict on the 25th in the trial concerning violations of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes (Embezzlement).

Hwang was accused of taking out a 800 million KRW loan in the name of her agency, which she privately owns, in July 2022. She then transferred 700 million KRW from the agency's account to her personal account for cryptocurrency investments.

Investigations revealed that she invested approximately 4.2 billion KRW out of the company's total funds of 4.36 billion KRW into cryptocurrencies across 13 instances by October of the same year.

It was also reported that Hwang used a portion of the embezzled funds to cover personal expenses, including credit card bills amounting to 4.44 million KRW and loan interest of 1 million KRW, to pay property and local taxes.

Hwang admitted to all charges in court and stated that she has fully repaid the damages. Her defense argued that the investment was made with the intention of growing the company and that her lack of understanding regarding accounting procedures led to the offense.

Hwang Jung-eum debuted in 2001 as a member of the girl group Sugar before transitioning to acting. She gained widespread recognition for her roles in hit dramas such as 'High Kick Through the Roof,' 'Kill Me, Heal Me,' and 'She Was Pretty.' She is married to businessman Lee Young-don and they have two sons.