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A South Korean court has handed down a four-year prison sentence to a woman who targeted football icon Son Heung-min in an elaborate blackmail scheme involving a fabricated pregnancy claim and falsified ultrasound images.
According to court documents and local media reports, the woman, identified only as Yang, first contacted Son last year while he was still playing for Tottenham Hotspur, alleging she was pregnant with his child. The allegation, which she later admitted she had not confirmed, became the basis for a demand of 300 million won. Prosecutors said she used the threat of going public to coerce the payment, which she spent on luxury goods.
A male accomplice, named in court as Yong, was found to have contacted Son repeatedly in an effort to pressure him for additional money. He confessed to his involvement and was sentenced to two years in prison for attempted blackmail. The woman’s accomplice, who had threatened Son 15 times to get the money, was handed a two-year jail term for attempted blackmail.
The Seoul Central District Court noted in its ruling that Yang “lied” to Son, and confirmed that she denied the charges of extortion and attempted extortion despite the evidence presented.
After Yang and her accomplice pursued further payments in 2024, Son reported the threats to police, bringing the case to an end. The presiding judge said the pair had exploited Son’s public status and that the ordeal had caused him “intense mental anguish” once the allegations surfaced.
Son, now 33, remains one of Asia’s most celebrated footballers. After ten years at Tottenham, he completed a record-breaking move to LAFC in August, becoming the most expensive signing in MLS history.
