A woman in her 20s who extorted 300 million won ($221,000) from national football team player Son Heung-min by threatening to reveal her pregnancy was sentenced to four years in prison in her appeal trial as well.
The Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Appeals Division 2-1 (Presiding Judge Gwak Jeong-han) on Thursday dismissed the appeals filed by the woman, surnamed Yang, in her 20s, and her accomplice, a man surnamed Yong, in his 40s, who were charged with blackmail and other offenses.
Yang was indicted for threatening Son in June 2024 to disclose her pregnancy and extorting 300 million won from him. She was also charged with conspiring with Yong between March and May last year to attempt to extort an additional 70 million won by threatening to reveal the pregnancy and abortion to the media and Son's family, though the attempt was unsuccessful.
Yang denied all charges during the trial, but the first-instance court found her guilty on all counts. The court stated that "the victim appears to have suffered considerable psychological distress," sentencing Yang to four years in prison and her accomplice Yong to two years.
Yang's legal team acknowledged the 300 million won blackmail charge in the appeal but argued that the attempted extortion of the additional 70 million won was solely Yong's doing. However, the appellate court rejected this argument. The court stated, "There are no changed circumstances from the original trial's judgment, and the original sentence does not appear excessively harsh."