• South Korean actress Hwang Jung-eum has received a two-year suspension for a crypto embezzlement worth about 4.34 billion won.
• The court ruling was very lenient to the actressbecause she had no prior criminal record, admitted guilt, and repaid all the funds by selling personal assets.

South Korean actress Hwang Jung-eum has been sentenced to a two-year prison suspension for a $3 crypto embezzlement. According to the court ruling, she would not be locked up behind prison bars unless she commits another crime within the next four years.

The court made this decision because of her personal circumstances and also because she has repaid all the money from the crypto embezzlement. So far, the case has drawn the attention of many in South Korea, as Hwang is a well-known actress that has featured in different television dramas and films.

The Details Of The Crypto Embezzlement, Repayment, and Court Ruling

According to the reports shared by the local newspaper, Hwang embezzled about 4.34 billion won (approximately $3.1 million) from her management company in early 2022.Investigators revealed that 4.2 billion won of the total money was invested in cryptocurrency, while the remainder was spent on paying property fees and local taxes through credit card transactions.

The company used for the embezzlement was a small family business owned by Hwang herself, with her as the only actor under management. At her first trial, on the 15th of May, Hwang admitted to all the charges and explained that she had neglected proper financial and tax planning. And immediately, she requested extra time to repay the full sum, which the court granted.

Following the court hearing, she sold her personal belongings, including valuable assets, and gradually repaid the debt. By mid-May, she had already returned about 3 billion Won, and the rest was paid off in two installments on May 30 and June 5th.

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During her final hearing on the 21st of August, Hwang apologized in front of the judges. According to the reports, She said, “I only wanted to work hard and live honestly, but I ignored important financial matters, and that led to this painful situation. I sincerely apologize to everyone who was disappointed by my actions,” she said this struggling to hold back her tears.

In her defense, her legal team explained that the money she used to make the crypto investments came from her entertainment activities and not from investors. They also shared public corporations and businesses in Korea are not peemitted to directly hold cryptocurrency, which was why the funds were not placed under her company’s name.

At the end of the whole hearing, the judges checked both sides and decided that although crime was serious, the fact that she repaid the entire money, admitted her wrongdoing, and has had no previous criminal record justified a suspended sentence rather than actual prison time.

The court added that if she commits another financial offense within the next four years, she will immediately face jail time. For now, Hwang has promised to stay away from risky financial decisions and focus on her acting career.

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