Woman, man get prison terms for blackmailing Son Heung-min

Son Heung-min, captain of the South Korean men's national football team, speaks at a press conference at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Seoul, Nov. 17. Yonhap

A woman and a man were each sentenced to prison terms Monday for blackmailing football star Son Heung-min with pregnancy claims.

The Seoul Central District Court sentenced the 20-something woman, surnamed Yang, to a four-year prison term, and her 40-something ex-boyfriend, surnamed Yong, to a two-year prison term.

Yang was charged with blackmail and attempted blackmail for extorting 300 million won ($204,000) from Son of Los Angeles Football Club in June last year after sending him an ultrasound image of a baby and threatening to reveal she was pregnant with his child.

The woman was found to have approached Son after a different man she targeted first showed no response to her blackmail.

Later, between March and May this year, Yang and Yong together attempted to extort another 70 million won from Son by threatening to tell his family and the press about her pregnancy and subsequent abortion.

Yong was charged with attempted blackmail.

"After discovering she was pregnant, Yang never confirmed whose child she was pregnant with," the bench said. "The victim is a celebrity and vulnerable to crimes, and the defendants used this to take a large sum of money, which makes the crime of an egregious nature."

The bench noted the victim suffered from "considerable psychological pain."