Korean celebrity Hwang Jung-eum, known for appearing in TV series like 'Kill Me, Heal Me', 'She Was Pretty', and '7 Escapes', is on trial for allegedly misappropriating company funds to invest in cryptocurrencies. The case involves over 4.3 billion Korean won (approximately 92 million New Taiwan dollars). In the first public trial on May 15, 2025, Hwang Jung-eum admitted to embezzlement charges, but her defense reasons drew attention.
First Public Trial
According to local Korean media Naver, Hwang Jung-eum was tried today at the Jeju District Court. The prosecution accused the 41-year-old of misappropriating company funds from her sole proprietorship, investing 700 million Korean won in crypto as a prepayment loan by the end of 2022, totaling approximately 4.34 billion Korean won, with about 4.2 billion won used for crypto investments, violating the Special Economic Crimes Aggravated Punishment Act's embezzlement clause.
Defense 'Company Unable to Open Account' Will Sell House as Compensation
In today's hearing, Hwang Jung-eum admitted to the prosecution's claims of misappropriating 4.2 billion Korean won for crypto investments. Her lawyer argued that the investment was for "company development" and explained:
"Since legal entities cannot directly hold cryptocurrencies, the investment was temporarily made under a personal name, leading to this incident."
Since the company was solely funded by Hwang Jung-eum, her lawyer emphasized that the company's revenues originated from her and ultimately belong to her, hoping the court would consider this. To compensate for losses, she has already sold some cryptocurrencies and plans to sell her house to repay. The court has agreed to defer the trial to allow her to raise compensation funds.
Korean Legal Analysis
Currently, Korean law enforcement can open crypto "real-name accounts" to facilitate seizure of criminal proceeds and forced tax collection. Non-profit legal entities and crypto exchanges are expected to have "real-name accounts" by the second quarter of this year.
Regarding real-name crypto accounts for professional investment entities and ordinary legal entities (like Hwang Jung-eum's company), discussions are ongoing. Especially for allowing ordinary legal entities to participate in crypto investments, this involves extensive legislative and foreign exchange tax system modifications, which are still in the medium to long-term planning of the Korean Financial Services Commission.
