25-year-old girl group member blackmailed over leaked car black box video with boy group idol — perpetrator sentenced to 2 years probation
A rental car company CEO identified as B has been convicted of blackmailing a 25-year-old girl group member, referred to as A, by exploiting her private life.
On October 19, Judge Gong Woo Jin of Incheon District Court’s Criminal Division 14 sentenced B to 8 months in prison, suspended for 2 years, along with 120 hours of community service.
B was charged with threatening A after discovering black box footage from a rented Staria vehicle on February 21 of last year. The footage reportedly showed A engaging in intimate behavior with a boy group member, referred to as C, in the back seat.
After viewing the footage, B sent A messages via the Chinese messenger app WeChat, saying, “What were you doing in the back seat yesterday? Don’t you think that was too much?” B also mentioned C’s group name and continued, “If you don’t admit it after this, I can’t help it,” and demanded money by saying, “The car cost me 47 million KRW, so give me at least half of that.”
Frightened, A sent 20,000 yuan (about 3.7 million KRW) to B at around 4:10 p.m. the same day, and an additional 30,000 yuan (about 5.6 million KRW) roughly three hours later.
However, B continued to pressure A. On February 23, during a meeting in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, B said, “It’s recorded in real time — just let it run to the end,” implying that the footage still existed, and demanded the remaining amount equivalent to half the car’s value. A handed B 500,000 KRW in cash on the spot. In total, A paid B approximately 9.79 million KRW (around 7,100 USD).
The court stated, “B committed this offense while already serving a suspended sentence. It is clearly a case of extortion,” but added, “The sentencing takes into account that B returned most of the money, admitted to the crime, and showed remorse.”
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