The prosecution has demanded a prison sentence of 1 year and 6 months for Kang Jong-hyun, the ex-boyfriend of actress Park Min-young and suspected real owner of Bithumb.

According to the legal community, the prosecution demanded a prison sentence of 1 year and 6 months for Kang Jong-hyun on charges of embezzlement and bribery in the listing of coins at a trial held on the 29th by the 11th Criminal Division (Presiding Judge Jeong Do-seong) of the Seoul Southern District Court.

Earlier, Kang Jong-hyun was brought to trial along with Ahn Sung-hyun on charges of giving Ahn Sung-hyun, a businessman and former professional golfer who is Sung Yu-ri‘s husband, 3 billion won in cash, two luxury watches worth a total of 400 million won, and high-end restaurant membership cards, along with a request to list A Coin on the Bithumb exchange.

The prosecution sought a 7-year prison sentence for Ahn Sang-hyun, who was indicted along with Kang Jong-hyun, and a 5-year prison sentence, 30.5 million won forfeited, and 1.425 billion won in fines for former Bithumb Holdings CEO Lee Sang-jun. It also requested an 8-month prison sentence for Mr. Song, an official at the coin issuer.

Kang Jong-hyun is also accused of stock price manipulation and embezzling 62.8 billion won from a Bithumb affiliate. She was arrested and indicted on charges of breach of trust and embezzlement under the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes and unfair trading under the Capital Markets Act, but was released on bail and is currently being tried without detention.

Park Min-young was criticized when it was revealed that she was dating Kang Jong-hyun, who is suspected of manipulating stock prices for illicit profits in 2022. Above all, the fact that Park Min-young’s older sister was listed as an outside director of Bithumb affiliate ‘Inbiogen’ caused great controversy and suspicion. There were also suspicions of financial transactions between Park Min-young and Kang Jong-hyun.

In response, Park Min-young‘s side denied the suspicions of financial transactions, stating that she had broken up with Kang Jong-hyun. It is known that Park Min-young was also investigated as a reference due to the Kang Jong-hyun issue. Since then, Park Min-young has successfully made a comeback with the tvN drama ‘Marry My Husband’, which ended in February, and is currently preparing for her next work.

Hong Se-young, Donga.com Reporter projecthong@donga.com