A South Korean woman was sentenced on Monday (8) to four years in prison for blackmailing national football star Son Heung-min by pretending she was the mother of his son, Seoul media reported.
The woman, nicknamed Yang, extorted 300 million won (US$200,000, or just over a million reais) from Son last year, after sending the player ultrasound images of a fetus and threatening to make them public.
It appears that the criminal spent the money on luxury items before she and her accomplice, named Yong, attempted to obtain an additional 70 million won (R$254,000) from the Los Angeles FC player.
Son reported both men to the police, leading to the couple’s arrest and charges.
The Seoul Central District Court sentenced Yang to four years in prison for blackmail, according to local media.
Her accomplice Yong, with whom she allegedly had a romantic relationship, was sentenced to two years in prison for attempted blackmail, Yonhap news agency reported.
The two men have been detained since May.
Judge Im Jeong-bin ruled that Yang took “extreme measures” to damage Son’s reputation.
“This was not limited to simple threats or demands for money, it went further by taking steps such as informing the press and advertising agencies, to exploit Son’s status as a public figure,” the judge said.
His son “suffered considerable psychological problems due to the publicity of the affair”, added the magistrate.
The South Korean national team captain appeared in a closed-door trial and testified in November.
It was not clarified whether Yang – who was speculated in the local press to have terminated the alleged pregnancy – was in fact pregnant with the child of the 33-year-old, a former Tottenham player.
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