By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
Police arrested a man Wednesday over the alleged blackmail of his former girlfriend by using an imaginary ``sex videotape.''
According to police in Chuncheon, the 26-year-old man began dating the woman, a 24-year-old office worker, last November.
After sleeping together several times, they said, he called her up and said a motel owner in whose establishment they had spent time together had recorded them being engaged in sexual intercourse. The man then demanded 30 million won to withhold the tape.
Police said he asked the woman to pay half at first, but he soon asked for more as he spun more lies. The woman had borrowed money from loan sharks in order to pay some 26 million won in total, they added.
The victim later reported the matter to the police, asking for a thorough investigation and saying the tapes were putting enormous stress on her.
The police became suspicious after questioning the suspect over the allegations, discovering that he had three previous convictions for similar offences on his criminal record.
bjs@koreatimes.co.kr
