SEOUL, June 10 — Prosecutors on Tuesday indicted a duo accused of blackmailing South Korean football star Son Heung-min with fake pregnancy claims to extort money from him, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said it indicted a woman in her 20s on charges of extortion and attempted extortion, and a man in his 40s on charges of attempted extortion. Both have been detained.
The woman surnamed Yang is accused of approaching the Tottenham Hotspur captain last June claiming she was pregnant with his child and demanding money in exchange for staying silent.
She reportedly sent Son an ultrasound image of a baby and received over 300 million won (US$215,000).
Investigations found Yang spent the proceeds of the crime on luxury goods and attempted to extort an additional 70 million won from Son with the man, surnamed Yong, whom she was dating at the time, but failed.
Police initially suspected the man had blackmailed Son alone, but the prosecution later found leads suggesting Yang was also involved in the attempted extortion.
Son allegedly handed Yang the money over concerns that his social reputation and career as a sports athlete would be harmed if the case was made public. — Bernama-Yonhap
