PANews reported on December 3 that according to Yonhap News Agency, the Cheongju District Court sentenced a public official of the Cheongju City Government to five years in prison for embezzlement of public funds. He embezzled 600 million won (427,800 U.S. dollars) for seven years starting from January 2017 to invest in cryptocurrencies and stocks and repay personal debts. He reportedly forged official documents in the plan.