Appeals court upholds prison terms for woman, man for blackmailing Son Heung-min

Son Heung-min of Korea looks back toward the pitch after a 1-0 loss to Austria in the teams' friendly football match at Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna, March 31. Yonhap

An appeals court on Wednesday upheld prison terms for a woman and a man for blackmailing football star Son Heung-min with pregnancy claims.

The Seoul Central District Court's appeals division upheld a lower ruling last December that sentenced the 20-something woman, surnamed Yang, to four years in prison, and the 40-something man, surnamed Yong, to two years.

The bench said it would dismiss the defendants' appeals, ruling the sentences cannot be seen as excessive.

Yang was charged with blackmail and attempted blackmail for extorting 300 million won ($203,000) from Son of Los Angeles Football Club in June 2024 after sending him an ultrasound image of a baby and threatening to reveal she was pregnant with his child.

Later, between March and May last 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.