Tottenham Star Blackmail: Woman Jailed 4 Years

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A South Korean court has sentenced a woman who blackmailed soccer star Son Heung-min to four years in prison. A woman in her 20s and her accomplice in her 40s were blackmailing Sona for the alleged child she was expecting with him. The woman contacted the footballer last year and demanded 300 million won (over four million crowns) from him under the threat of publishing the information. Son complied with the request. The woman spent the compensation on luxury goods. The British BBC reported on the case.

When the pair demanded more money from Son this year, the American Los Angeles FC winger turned to the police.

“(The woman) insists that she received the money as compensation and presents herself as a victim,” prosecutors said in court on Monday. “However, her claims are completely untrue,” they added, accusing her of “thoroughly” planning the crime.

The woman’s accomplice, who allegedly threatened Son up to fifteen times in order to get more money, was sentenced to two years in prison for attempted blackmail. The judge said the woman and her accomplice used Son’s fame to commit crimes and that Son appeared to have gone through “intense psychological distress” after the case became media attention.

The South Korean footballer transferred to the American Los Angeles FC in the summer after spending ten years in the English Tottenham and became the second highest paid player in the competition after the Argentinian Messi, according to the website Transfermarkt. Son is considered by many to be the greatest Asian football star ever.