A South Korean court has 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.
The woman and a male accomplice in his 40s were found guilty of extorting 300 million won ($200,000; £153,000) from the former Tottenham Hotspur captain after she approached him last year with the fabricated pregnancy claim. Prosecutors told the Seoul district court that the woman had “thoroughly” planned the crime and spent the money on luxury goods.
When the pair demanded additional funds this year, Son reported the extortion to the police. The accomplice, who had threatened Son 15 times, was sentenced to two years in prison for attempted blackmail.
The judge said the defendants had exploited Son’s celebrity status, causing him “intense mental anguish” after the case became public. Prosecutors rejected the woman’s claim that the payment was compensation, stating her account did “not fully match the facts.”
Son, 33, left Tottenham in August to join Los Angeles FC in Major League Soccer in a record-breaking transfer. In October, he was named the second-highest paid footballer in MLS. Widely regarded as one of Asia’s greatest players, Son won the Premier League Golden Boot in 2022 while at Spurs, becoming the first Asian player to do so.
By James Kisoo
