Kwon Jin-young Sentenced: 2 Years Suspended Jail for Misappropriating 4 Billion Won

Kwon Jin-young, CEO / Photo: Hook Entertainment

[Sports Today Reporter Kim Tae-hyung] Hook Entertainment CEO Kwon Jin-young, who was prosecuted on charges of privately using about 4 billion KRW (approximately 3 million USD) in company funds, was handed a suspended prison sentence in the first-instance trial.

On the 3rd, the Seoul Southern District Court, Criminal Division 12 (Presiding Judge Park Jong-yeol) sentenced Kwon, who was indicted on charges including embezzlement and breach of trust under the Act on Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, to two years in prison, suspended for four years.

The court said that using control of a company to misappropriate its assets is socially unacceptable and not a minor offense, noting that even a single-owner company can inflict unexpected harm on others connected to the business and therefore requires stricter oversight.

The court explained that it took into account Kwon’s admission of the charges and the fact that restitution and deposits had helped restore the losses when determining the sentence.

Prosecutors indicted Kwon in October of last year on allegations that between 2012 and 2022 he used about 4 billion KRW (approximately 3 million USD) of Hook Entertainment funds for personal purposes, including buying furniture and paying insurance premiums.

He is also on trial on charges that he illicitly obtained sleeping pills through an employee. He previously had a dispute with former artist and actor Lee Seung-gi over settlement payments.

[Sports Today Reporter Kim Tae-hyung ent@stoo.com]
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