A South Korean court has handed a four-year prison sentence to a woman in her 20s for blackmailing football star Son Heung-min.
Her accomplice, a man in his 40s, received a two-year term for attempted blackmail.
The pair was found guilty of claiming that the woman was pregnant with Son’s child and extorting money from him.
According to a Seoul district court, the woman approached Son last year, asserting she was carrying his child, though she did not actually know if that was true, local media reported.
They demanded $300 million won ($200,000; £153,000), threatening to go public with the pregnancy allegation if Son did not comply.
AFP reported that the woman spent the money on luxury and designer items.
Prosecutors told the court on Monday, “[The woman] insists she received the money as compensation and portrays herself as a victim. But her claims do not fully match the facts,” adding that she had planned the crime “thoroughly.”
The accomplice reportedly threatened Son 15 times in an attempt to secure the money. When they later demanded additional funds this year, Son approached the police.
The judge said both offenders had exploited Son’s celebrity status, noting that the footballer had endured “intense mental anguish” following the media coverage of the case.
Son, who left Tottenham in August after a decade to join Los Angeles Football Club in a record-breaking MLS transfer, was named the second-highest paid player in Major League Soccer in October.
Widely celebrated as one of Asia’s top footballers, Son previously made history in 2022 as the first Asian to win the Premier League’s golden boot, awarded annually to the league’s top scorer.
