A man in his 20s who deceived a teenage girl into believing he would murder her parents and then extorted money from her has been sentenced to prison.

Judge Shin Heung Ho of the Incheon District Court announced on April 19 that 20-year-old 'A' was given a suspended sentence. This means 'A' was sentenced to one year in prison but won't have to serve this time unless he breaks the law again within the next three years. Additionally, 'A' must complete 160 hours of community service. 'A' was charged with fraud and attempted extortion for accepting approximately 700,000 KRW (~509 USD) from 'B' (age 16), who had contacted him on January 2 of the previous year, requesting the murders of her parents and her ex-boyfriend.

At that time, 'B' claimed that 'A' offered hitman services, including murder and organ trafficking, in an advertisement posted online. 'A' then demanded 30 million KRW (~21,807 USD) from 'B' to carry out the murder as requested and accepted money on two separate occasions.

Two days later, when 'B' informed 'A' that she could not provide any more money and wanted to cancel the murder request, 'A' threatened her, stating, "You cannot cancel. People are already searching for your parents," and further threatened, "If you don't send an additional 300,000 KRW, I will expose all your personal information and proceed with organ trafficking."

The judge remarked, "The severity of the defendant's crime is significant, and there was no agreement reached with the victim." However, he also took into account that 'A' is a first-time offender without a criminal record and appears to be reflecting on his actions.

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