WOMAN JAILED FOR BLACKMAILING SON HEUNG-MIN OVER FAKE PREGNANCY
A woman who extorted Son Heung-min, the former captain of Tottenham Hotspur, for £153,000 in a fake pregnancy plot has been jailed for four years.
The South Korean woman and her ex-boyfriend were found guilty of blackmailing the footballer at Seoul district court on Monday.
The woman, identified in court by her surname Yang, had sent Son, 33, a foetal ultrasound image and threatened to go public in June 2024 with claims that she was pregnant with his child.
She spent Son’s money on luxury and designer goods, South Korean media reported.
Yang and her former boyfriend, only identified as Yong, attempted to extort another £35,000 from Son between March and May of this year by threatening to tell his family and the press that she had aborted his child.
It was never clear if she was actually carrying Son’s child.
Yang, aged in her 20s, targeted the footballer after allegedly unsuccessfully attempting to blackmail another man.
Police arrested Yang and Yong in April and charged them with extortion and attempted extortion.
Yong, in his 40s, had threatened Son 15 times and was jailed for two years for attempted blackmail.
Prosecutors said Yang “insists she received the money as compensation and portrays herself as a victim.”
“But her claims do not fully match the facts,” they said, and accused her of planning the crime “thoroughly”.
Judge Im Jeong-bin said that Yang had taken “extreme measures” in her attempts to tarnish Son’s reputation, Yonhap news agency reported.
“It was not limited to simple threats or demands for money; she went further by taking action, such as informing the media and advertising agencies, exploiting Son’s status as a public figure”, the judge said.
Son “suffered considerable psychological distress as a result of the case becoming public”, he added.
Held behind closed doors
The trial was held behind closed doors, and Son gave evidence as a witness last month.
Prosecutors described Yang’s testimony as “inconsistent”.
“After learning about her pregnancy, Yang did not verify whose child it was,” Judge Im said.
“Although Yang said she believed the foetus was Son’s, her testimony was inconsistent and therefore difficult to accept,” Judge Im added.
Son, who is considered Asia’s greatest ever football player and captains South Korea’s national team, is not married and has no children.
He is currently living in California following his transfer to Los Angeles FC from Tottenham for £19.5 million.
In October, he was named the second-highest paid footballer in Major League Soccer.
Son has been romantically linked to Korean pop stars Bang Min-ah and Yoo So-young in the past, but has also hinted that he would not settle down until he retired from football.
“My father says this and I agree, as well: when you marry, the No 1 will be family, wife and kids, and then football,” he told The Guardian in 2019.
“I want to make sure that while I play at the top level, football can be No 1.
“You don’t know how long you can play at the top level. When you retire, or when you are 33 or 34, you can still have a long life with your family.”
2025-12-08T14:00:40Z