Hancom Group Chairman Kim Sang-cheol was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison, suspended for 3 years, after the Suwon District Court Seongnam Branch Criminal Division 1 acquitted him of breach of trust related to an alleged 9.6 billion Korean won cryptocurrency slush fund but convicted him of embezzlement in the course of business. Prosecutors alleged that Kim disguised the sale of Arowana Token, held by Hancom With, as business activity between December 2021 and October 2022, secured about 9.6 billion Korean won in Bitcoin and other assets, and transferred the proceeds under the name of his second son, a Hancom With director, for personal use. The court said the prosecution had not proved Kim's intent or collusion, noting that about 4.5 billion Korean won was injected into the token operator for business purposes. It convicted him over the use of 250 million Korean won and 240 million Korean won from affiliates for borrowed-name stock purchases and false salary payments. The court cited his admission, remorse, compensation of damages and lack of similar prior convictions in imposing the suspended sentence.