A woman who extorted 300 million won by threatening soccer player Son Heung-min, saying she was pregnant with his child, was sentenced to four years in prison.
Judge Lim Jeong-bin of the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 20 alone-judge panel sentenced a woman in her 20s, a person surnamed Yang, to four years in prison at 2 p.m. on the 8th for charges including extortion. A man in his 40s, a person surnamed Yong, who was also put on trial for attempted extortion, was sentenced to two years in prison.
The court said, "The victim is a celebrity and vulnerable to crime, and the defendants took advantage of this to obtain a large sum of money, which makes the crime particularly bad," and added, "Even after receiving 300 million won, they tried to get more money, and as a result, the victim suffered considerable mental distress," explaining the reasons for the sentence.
Earlier, at the sentencing hearing on the 8th, prosecutors sought five years in prison for Yang and two years for Yong.
Yang is accused of threatening to expose that she was "pregnant with a child" to Son Heung-min in June last year and stealing 300 million won. According to prosecutors, Yang originally informed another man of the pregnancy and demanded money. But when the man did not respond, she shifted her target of threats to Son Heung-min. Son's side eventually paid Yang 300 million won.
Yang is said to have squandered all the money extorted from Son Heung-min on luxury goods. Later, as she struggled financially, she again threatened Son Heung-min in March this year through Yong, who was in a romantic relationship with her. At the time, they demanded an additional 70 million won, saying they would "expose the pregnancy to the media," and Son's side filed a complaint against them.