In news that just left me rather confused, popular actress Hwang Jung Eum has admitted to embezzling ~$3 million of her agency money … to invest in cryptocurrency.
Hwang has been indicted with embezzling 4.34 billion won from the company that she wholly owns in 2022. Of the embezzled amount, she invested 4.2 billion won in cryptocurrency.
Hwang’s side admitted to all charges during the case’s first hearing at the Jeju District Court.
“The defendant invested in (cryptocurrency) coins in a bid to grow her company,” her lawyer said. “As a corporation cannot own coins, she temporarily did so under her own name, leading to the crime.”
The lawyer said the company’s losses have partially been covered by selling the cryptocurrency, adding the rest will be repaid by selling off real estate.
Oh, she lost money on them? Weird, I’m shocked, personally.
And ah, she only did it to get around safeguards against dumbfuck executives blowing money on gambling on crypto shitcoins. Totally fine then.
Anyway, Hwang issued an apology through Y.One Entertainment.
“I apologize for causing concern with such a shameful matter,” Hwang said in a statement released through her agency Y.One Entertainment.
“I established and ran an entertainment agency solely for my career,” she said. “I owned 100 percent of the company, and no other celebrities were ever signed under it. All revenues were generated from my own activities.”
Hwang explained that in 2021, she was advised by someone close to her to invest in cryptocurrency using company funds.“
“I made the investment in hopes of growing the company, but it was a hasty and immature decision,” she said. “Though the funds were under the company’s name, they were earnings from my own work, and I misjudged the situation.”
The crypto investment resulted in losses, but she emphasized that “since I held all the shares of the company and had no creditors except for banks with secured loans, I believe it’s fortunate that no third parties were harmed,” she said.
Hwang added that she is working to rectify the financial relationship with the company.
“I’ve joined a new agency and have completely cut ties with my former company,” she said. “I’ve repaid a large portion of the funds that were withdrawn in the form of temporary payments by liquidating personal assets, and I’m in the process of repaying the remaining amount.”
Yeah, the argument that corporate and personal money are equivalent is a weird way to go here considering the rules that require them to be treated separately exist for a reason and are to prevent much bigger crimes, which is why she’s facing potential jail time over this (she’s famous and a first-time offender, probably not).
Either way, between this and falsely accusing some random woman of being a homewrecker, it’s been a rough go of late and she’s only shot herself in the foot with her decision making.
