Scandal in South Korea: Four-year prison sentence for woman who blackmailed Son Heung-min

A South Korean woman has been sentenced to four years in prison for blackmailing former Tottenham Hotspur footballer Heung-min Son , who currently plays for Los Angeles FC in MLS.

The 20-year-old, whose surname was revealed as Yang, was found guilty of blackmail, claiming to be pregnant. Last November, during the closed-door trial, Heung-min Son appeared as a witness to testify against Y ang, who was accused of extorting the footballer for 300 million won (approximately $205,000) in June.

The incident allegedly occurred after Yang sent him an ultrasound scan, threatening to reveal her pregnancy. Yang and her boyfriend, Yong, also attempted to extort him for another 70 million won. In fact, Son is not the first man the 20-year-old has pursued, who reportedly approached him after another man did not respond to the blackmail.

The court stated that, after discovering her pregnancy, Yang never confirmed the identity of the father . It added that the victim, Son, is a celebrity vulnerable to such crimes, and that the accused took advantage of this to obtain a large amount of money, making the crime " atrocious in nature" . It also stated that the victim suffered "considerable psychological distress".