A court in South Korea sentenced a woman in her 20s to four years in prison for blackmailing football star Son Heung-min by falsely claiming she was pregnant with his child. Her accomplice, a man in his 40s, was given a two-year prison sentence for attempted blackmail.
According to court investigations reported in local media, the woman approached Son last year, claiming she was carrying his child when she was unsure if this was true. She extorted 300 million won ($200,000; £153,000) from the former Tottenham Hotspur captain and threatened to make her claim public unless he paid. Prosecutors said she used the money to buy luxury items and argued she planned the crime thoroughly, rejecting her claim that the money was compensation.
The court heard that the accomplice made 15 threats to Son to obtain the money. When the pair demanded more money earlier this year, the 33-year-old player called the police.
The judge said the two defendants took advantage of Son’s celebrity status and stated that the football player appeared to suffer severe mental distress after the case became public.
In August, Son, one of Asia’s most recognizable football players, left Tottenham for Los Angeles Football Club in the most expensive transfer in Major League Soccer history. He became the league’s second-highest-paid player in October. He remains popular in South Korea and the region and in 2022 became the first Asian winner of the Premier League Golden Boot.
