The woman who tried to blackmail singer-actor Park Yoochun has been sentenced to prison.
The Seoul Central District Court sentenced the 30-year-old woman, known only by the last name of Kim, to 10 months of jail time for her extortion efforts.
The blackmailer found a lost phone in a Gangnam shop last February and looked through the messages. When she saw texts and photos that related to Park Yoochun, she decided to threaten him.
She called Yoochun's agency, C-JeS, and threatened to the photos if the idol did not pay her $100,000. Some reports said that the phone belonged to Yoochun and others said it belonged to a former girlfriend of his. It is also said that he offered the blackmailer a finder's fee as compensation for finding the phone. He asked her to return the phone but the blackmailer threatened to release the photos and texts to the press unless she received the full amount.
Yoochun's agency decided to involve the police.
A C-JeS representative offered to meet the blackmailer to give her the money but when the woman showed up, the Seoul Gangnam Police were waiting for her. She was arrested.
Shortly thereafter C-JeS also released a statement on the subject.
"The blackmailer extracted personal information from a cell phone that she acquired and when she spotted Yoochun on the phone, she demanded $100,000 not to spread the information in the phone to a media outlet or online."
They stressed that the singer had nothing to hide but that the crime was serious and should not be taken lightly. The agency requested an investigation and said they would press charges.
The court ruled that the blackmailer was guilty and that her actions had caused the idol and his agency significant distress. But the judges also noted that the money was returned and the information was not distributed.
And the girlfriend whose phone it supposedly was?
Although Park Yoochun has in the past said that if he dated, he would do so publicly, nothing is known about the woman whose phone the blackmailer supposedly found.
The agency said that Park Yoochun, a member of the K-pop band JYJ and formerly a member of TVXQ, knew nothing about what was on the phone. The singer-turned actor has appeared in the dramas "Sungkyunkwan Scandal," "Rooftop Prince," "Miss Ripley," "Missing You" and most recently "Three Days." He also had his first film role this year in the film "Sea Fog."
