'Sung Yuri's husband' Ahn Sung-hyun was found not guilty at the second trial of coin fraud.."No fraudulent solicitation" [Star Issue]

*This content was translated by AI.

Professional golfer Ahn Sung-hyun, who was accused of taking billions of won in the name of listing cryptocurrency on a virtual asset exchange, was acquitted in the second trial.

On the 2nd, the Seoul High Court's Criminal Department 13 (Chief Judge Baek Kang-jin) overturned the first trial's ruling, which sentenced Ahn Sung-hyun to four and a half years in prison, on charges of violating the law on aggravated punishment of certain economic crimes.

The Seoul Southern District Court's Criminal Agreement Department 11, which was previously the first trial court, sentenced Ahn Sung-hyun to four and a half years in prison in December 2024 and ordered him to confiscate two luxury watches he received during the solicitation process. Ahn Sung-hyun, who was arrested in court following the first trial sentence, has been on trial without detention in June 2024 on bail by the second trial court.

The first trial court said, "Even though transparent and sound asset transactions are made, solicitation undermines the fairness and transparency of the market," adding, "It also seriously undermines investors' trust and can cause enormous damage to good investors."

Ahn Sung-hyun and Lee Sang-joon, former CEO of Bithumb Holdings, were asked by businessman Kang Jong-hyun to list two so-called "Kimchi Coin" on Bithumb in 2021 and were accused of accepting 3 billion won in cash, two luxury watches, and membership cards for high-end restaurants.

Ahn Sung-hyun was also accused of stealing 2 billion won by deceiving Kang Jong-hyun, saying, "Former CEO Lee Sang-joon asks for 2 billion won in solicitations quickly." Ahn Sung-hyun was found to have received luxury goods worth about 44 million won, including 30 million won luxury bags and high-end clothing, from Kang Jong-hyun.

However, the second trial court said, "We do not recognize the credibility of Kang Jong-hyun's statement that he gave to Ahn Sung-hyun in exchange for a coin listing request," regarding whether Kang Jong-hyun's 5 billion won and 3 billion won, which was charged to Lee Sang-joon, were recognized as illegal favors. "It seems that the money Ahn Sung-hyun received may have been issued in relation to coin investment or other businesses as he claimed," he said.

In addition, it was considered that Ahn Sung-hyun's responsibility for flood damage was not recognized for the expensive watch that Kang Jong-hyun gave to Lee Sang-joon and Ahn Sung-hyun. The first trial found him guilty of accepting a high-end restaurant membership card watch bag in the name of a coin listing request.

The second trial said, "Kang Jong-hyun bought two expensive watches and gave one to two people each," and added, "An Sung-hyun is not a trustee in breach of trust, but as a beneficiary." The watch is the price of the public offering relationship for Jae-jae, and Ahn Sung-hyun is not responsible for this part."

The second trial said, "An Sung-hyun seems to have been handling investment negotiations on behalf of Kang Jong-hyun in many cases. In this situation, it is difficult to find a motive to defraud 2 billion won at the risk of being caught," he said, adding, "It is more convincing to Ahn Sung-hyun's excuse that he invested 2 billion won in Big Planet on behalf of Kang Jong-hyun."

The court acquitted Ahn Sung-hyun and ordered him to confiscate only one expensive watch he held in connection with Lee Sang-joon's crime. At the same time, Kang Jong-hyun was sentenced to one year in prison and two years of probation in consideration of the decrease in the amount of money increased due to Ahn Sung-hyun's innocence.

Ahn Sung-hyun debuted as a professional golfer in 2005 and served as a standing military coach for the Korean national golf team from 2014 to 2018. She married Pinkle-turned-actor Sung Yu-ri in 2017 and has twin daughters. Earlier, Sung Yu-ri appealed for unfairness, saying, "I pray that the truth about the unfair and difficult things will be revealed."

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*This content was translated by AI.