SEOUL — In a verdict that underscores the perils faced by public figures in the digital age, a Seoul court on Monday sentenced a woman and her accomplice to prison terms for attempting to extort millions from South Korean football icon Son Heung-min, the captain of the national team and a newly minted star in Major League Soccer (MLS). The case, which began with a fabricated pregnancy claim and escalated into repeated threats, has captivated South Korea, where Son is revered as a national treasure for his on-field heroics and off-field humility. The ruling brings a measure of closure to a saga that not only tested Son’s resilience but also highlighted the growing scourge of celebrity-targeted blackmail schemes amid the country’s intense media scrutiny and social media proliferation.
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The Seoul Central District Court handed down a four-year prison sentence to the primary perpetrator, a woman in her 20s identified only by her surname Yang, on charges of blackmail and attempted blackmail. Her co-conspirator, a man in his 40s surnamed Yong, who prosecutors described as her romantic partner at the time, received a two-year term for attempted blackmail. Both have been in custody since their arrest in May, following a months-long investigation triggered by Son’s decision to alert authorities after the second extortion attempt. Prosecutors had sought a harsher five-year penalty for Yang, citing the premeditated nature of the scheme, but the court balanced the sentence with Yong’s full confession and cooperation during the probe.
The ordeal began in June 2024, when Yang contacted Son via private messages, sending him a fetal ultrasound image and claiming she was pregnant with his child. Leveraging Son’s status as a global celebrity, then at the peak of his Tottenham Hotspur career, she threatened to expose the alleged affair to the media, his family, and sponsors unless he paid her 300 million won (approximately $200,000–$205,000). Fearing irreparable damage to his reputation and family life, Son complied, wiring the funds in a bid to keep the matter private.
Investigators later uncovered that Yang had a history of similar tactics; she had previously attempted to extort another man using the same pregnancy ruse but abandoned the effort when he refused to pay. In Son’s case, she squandered the extortion money on luxury handbags, designer clothing, and high-end cosmetics, items that police traced through purchase receipts and bank records. By early 2025, facing financial strain after depleting the windfall, Yang enlisted Yong in a renewed bid for cash. Between March and May, the pair demanded an additional 70 million won ($47,000–$50,000), threatening to leak details of the supposed pregnancy and a subsequent abortion to tabloids and advertising agencies that endorsed Son.
This time, Son, advised by his legal team, contacted the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency instead of paying. The ensuing sting operation led to the duo’s arrest on May 17 during a pretrial detention hearing at the same court. Digital forensics revealed a trove of incriminating evidence: encrypted messages plotting the scheme, draft emails to media outlets, and screenshots of Yang’s shopping sprees. “It was a calculated exploitation of the victim’s fame,” a prosecutor told Yonhap News Agency, noting how Yang had stalked Son’s public schedule to time her initial approach during a low-profile visit to Seoul.
Presiding Judge Im Jeong-bin delivered a scathing rebuke during the sentencing, emphasizing the “extreme measures” Yang employed to weaponize Son’s celebrity against him. “This 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,” Im stated. He highlighted the psychological toll on the 33-year-old athlete: “Son suffered considerable distress as the case became public, amplifying his anxiety over family and career repercussions.” Son himself testified as a witness in a closed session last month, describing the ordeal as a “nightmare” that disrupted his focus during international duties.
A central controversy lingers: whether Yang was ever pregnant with Son’s child. The court ruled her claims unreliable, noting she never sought paternity verification despite ample opportunity. “After learning about her pregnancy, Yang did not verify whose child it was,” Judge Im said. “Although Yang said she believed the fetus was Son’s, her testimony was inconsistent and therefore difficult to accept.” Local media speculation has swirled around a possible termination, but no medical records were presented in evidence, and Yang denied the pregnancy was fabricated during trial. Prosecutors dismissed it as a ploy, pointing to her prior failed attempt as evidence of a pattern.
The scandal erupted publicly in late May, coinciding with Son’s high-stakes move to the United States. Just weeks earlier, on August 6, 2025, Los Angeles FC (LAFC) announced Son’s signing in a deal that shattered MLS transfer records at an estimated $26.5 million from Tottenham Hotspur, surpassing Atlanta United’s $22 million acquisition of Emmanuel Latte Lath earlier that year. The transfer, which included a Designated Player contract through 2027 with options to 2029, marked the end of Son’s illustrious 10-year tenure at Tottenham, where he scored 173 goals in 454 appearances, captained the side to the 2025 UEFA Europa League title (the club’s first trophy in 17 years), and became the first Asian player to win the Premier League Golden Boot in 2021–22, sharing it with Mohamed Salah.
Son’s arrival in California was hailed as a coup for MLS, injecting global star power into a league buoyed by Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami tenure. In October, the MLS Players Association’s salary disclosures confirmed Son as the circuit’s second-highest earner, with a guaranteed compensation of $11.15 million for 2025, trailing only Messi’s $20.45 million, comprising a $10.37 million base salary plus bonuses. On the pitch, Son wasted no time, netting nine goals in 10 regular-season matches, including a free-kick stunner against FC Dallas that clinched MLS Goal of the Year honors. His impact extended off-field: LAFC reported a 40% surge in Korean-American ticket sales, and Son’s jersey became the fastest-selling in club history, rivaling Messi’s league-wide dominance.
Born July 8, 1992, in Chuncheon, Son rose from humble roots, trained rigorously by his father, former player Son Woong-jung, to become South Korea’s most capped male player with 137 appearances as of October 2025, eclipsing legends Cha Bum-kun and Hong Myung-bo. His international ledger boasts 53 goals, including strikes in three straight FIFA World Cups (2014, 2018, 2022), where he captained the Taeguk Warriors to the round of 16 in Qatar. Son’s 2018 heroics at the Asian Games, scoring the winner in a 2–1 gold-medal triumph over Japan, exempted the squad from mandatory military service, a pivotal moment that allowed him to focus on club football. He has been Asia’s Best Footballer for a record 10 consecutive years (2013–2023, per some tallies), earned the FIFA Puskás Award for his acrobatic 2019 strike against Burnley, and received South Korea’s Order of Sport Merit in 2022.
Yet, Son’s fame has long invited shadows. This extortion marks the second such incident in recent years; in 2023, he faced online harassment after a teammate’s military exemption controversy. Experts link the rise in celebrity blackmail to South Korea’s hyper-connected society, where K-pop idols and athletes alike endure relentless scrutiny. The National Police Agency reported a 25% uptick in digital extortion cases involving public figures in 2025, often via anonymous apps like KakaoTalk. Victim advocates praise Son’s courage in reporting the crime, contrasting it with cases where stars pay to silence accusers, perpetuating cycles of abuse.
As the gavel fell on Monday, Son was back in Los Angeles, preparing for LAFC’s Western Conference playoffs push, a testament to his compartmentalization. In a rare post-verdict statement via his agency, he expressed relief: “This chapter closes, but my focus remains on the pitch and representing Korea with pride.” Fans flooded social media with support, dubbing him “unbreakable.” For Yang and Yong, appeals loom, but the court left no doubt: exploiting vulnerability for gain, especially against a figure of Son’s stature, demands accountability. In a nation where football unites amid economic pressures and geopolitical tensions, Son’s resilience shines brighter, reminding all that true icons endure beyond the headlines.
