A man among a group that demanded a large sum of money by claiming he was pregnant with the child of national soccer team captain Son Heung-min (33, Los Angeles FC) requested to be tried without detention, but it was dismissed.
On the 11th, Im Jeong-bin, a judge at the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 20, rejected the bail application of a person surnamed Yong (40), stating that there was a concern the defendant might flee.
Bail is a system that allows the release of detained defendants under certain conditions, such as receiving a security deposit or having a guarantor, while imposing restrictions on contact with related parties.
Earlier, Yong and a woman surnamed Yang (28) were accused of demanding a large sum of money from Son Heung-min by claiming, 'I am pregnant' since June of last year.
Yang, who was in a romantic relationship with Son Heung-min, is accused of sending him a fetal ultrasound image to claim her pregnancy, extorting 300 million won. Yong is also accused of demanding an additional 70 million won from Son Heung-min between March and May of this year by threatening to reveal information about the pregnancy and abortion.
Son Heung-min's side filed a complaint against the two for extortion in May. The Gangnam Police Station, which received the case, arrested Yang and Yong on the 14th of the same month and detained them on the 17th. They were then transferred to the prosecution on the 22nd.
According to police investigations, Yang initially informed another man about her pregnancy and demanded money, but after being rejected, she sought money from Son Heung-min by claiming she was pregnant with his child.
After squandering all the extorted money and suffering from financial difficulties, it was revealed that she conspired with Yong, who had been in a romantic relationship with her, to attempt to extort money from Son Heung-min again.
The prosecution uncovered that the second extortion act, which was believed to be a solo crime committed by Yong, was in fact a conspiracy between Yang and Yong through methods such as collecting call logs and conducting search warrants.
Meanwhile, at the first trial held on the 17th of last month, Yang's side denied the charges of conspiracy and attempted extortion, stating they would express their position later, while Yong's side reportedly acknowledged all the charges.