The rental car company owner who blackmailed a couple of idols by using private footage captured on a rental car dashcam and extorted money was given a suspended prison sentence.
According to the legal community on Oct. 18, Judge Gong Woo-jin of the Incheon District Court Criminal Division 14 sentenced A, who was indicted on charges of extortion, to eight months in prison with a two-year suspension and ordered 120 hours of community service.
A rented a van to a female idol member last Feb. through the rental car company he runs, and after receiving the returned vehicle and checking the dashcam, he discovered footage showing that the member was engaging in physical contact with another male idol member.
A then decided to extort money from the victim and sent a text message to the female idol member saying, "What did you do in the back seat of the car yesterday? Isn't that too much?" He then mentioned the male idol member's group name and threatened, "I've gone this far, and if you don't admit it, there's nothing I can do on this side."
He demanded money, saying, "The car cost 47 million won. Give me half for now," and continued to threaten even after receiving money in two installments.
A referenced the dashcam again days later, saying to the victim, "That's recorded in real time. Just keep it going until the end," and acted as if he would distribute the footage externally if he was not paid. Ultimately, frightened, the victim transferred a total of 9.793 million won in three installments.
A was charged with extortion. Extortion is established when someone obtains a financial benefit by threatening another person and is punishable by up to 10 years in prison or a fine of up to 20 million won.
The first-instance court noted, "A committed the crime during the probationary period," but considering that most of the extorted money was returned to the victim and that the defendant admitted the crime and showed remorse, it imposed a suspended prison sentence. The court gave the sentencing rationale, saying, "The sentence was determined after comprehensively considering the degree of extortion and the amount taken."
[Photo] OSEN DB
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