South Korean actor Park Min-young has been questioned by prosecutors in connection with her ex-boyfriend’s alleged embezzlement at Bithumb, South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
Park, the ex-girlfriend of Bithumb’s primary owner Kang Jong-hyun, was summoned as a witness on Tuesday. Prosecutors also imposed a travel ban on Park, who is suspected of having made profits from Bithumb’s convertible bond transactions.
Kang was arrested on Feb. 2 on charges including embezzlement, fraudulent transactions and dereliction of duty.
He is accused of embezzling money from a Bithumb affiliate. Kang is the older brother of Kang Ji-yeon, the head of kiosk supplier Inbiogen, which holds the biggest share in Vidente, Bithumb’s largest shareholder.
The Seoul Southern District Prosecutor’s Office is investigating whether Park had any direct involvement with Kang’s business operations and practices.
In September 2022, Park and Kang’s relationship became public. However, Park’s agency, Hook Entertainment, quickly released a statement to announce that they had already broken up and to also deny allegations of financial support from Kang.
On Wednesday, Hook Entertainment issued another statement, this time in response to reports of Park’s investigation and travel ban, apologizing for the delayed response.
Hello. This is Hook Entertainment. We will inform you about our agency’s actress Park Min Young’s prosecution summons for investigation and prohibition of departure as was reported through the press on February 14 (Tuesday). Park Min Young dutifully completely the prosecution summons for investigation as a simple witness, and we confirm that she is currently not prohibited from leaving the country. We apologize for delivering bad news in these difficult times, and we apologize for delaying our response regarding this [issue].
Park is known for her roles in popular K-dramas such as “Healer,” “What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim,” “Her Private Life” and “Forecasting Love and Weather.”
