Actor Park Min-young summoned as witness in investigation into ex-boyfriend

Actor Park Min-young [NEWS1]

Actor Park Min-young was summoned as a witness by prosecutors investigating Kang Jong-hyun, a businessman arrested on Feb. 2 on multiple charges including embezzlement, dereliction of duty and fraudulent transaction.

The Seoul Southern District Prosecutor’s Office announced late Tuesday that it had summoned Park, who was formerly in a relationship with Kang, as a witness on Monday. Prosecutors also imposed a travel ban on Park.

Kang is accused of embezzling money from an affiliate of cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb. He is the older brother of Kang Ji-yeon, the head of the kiosk supplier Inbiogen, which holds the biggest share in Vidente. Vidente is the largest shareholder of Bithumb, and Kang Jong-hyun is often referred to as the de facto owner of the cryptocurrency exchange.

The Seoul Southern District Prosecutor’s Office is also investigating whether Park was directly involved in Kang’s business practices.

Park was embroiled in controversy last October when rumors broke that she was closely involved with Kang. At the time, Park’s agency Hook Entertainment announced that “Park has broken up with Kang” and that “the allegations that she had received financial support from Kang are absolutely not true.”

On Monday, Park made a statement to the effect that she had nothing to do with the Bithumb operations, according to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor’s Office and local reports.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]