On Aug. 28, actor Lee Byung Hun reported a blackmail attempt to the Gangnam District Station Police. The police investigated the case and on Sept. 1 began to process arrest warrants for the two women alleged to have threatened him. One of those women is reported to be Da Hee, an actress and a member of the k-pop girl group GLAM. The other is a 25-year old model who has as yet not been identified.
The women will be charged with threatening Lee and trying to extort money. They allegedly threatened to reveal a video clip that showed Lee drinking and making lewd jokes. They said they would destroy the clip if the actor paid them $5 million.
The women reportedly recorded the footage on a smart phone while they were drinking at the actor's home earlier this summer. They were friends of a younger friend of Lee Byung Hun's.
GLAM's agency Big Hit Entertainment confirmed that Da Hee was a suspect in the case but said that they had been unable to contact the singer.
"We don't know any details about the incident as it is private," Big Hit Entertainment said in a statement.
The agency did clarify that Lee Byung Hun met Da Hee through a friend. They also said that the women already admitted to some of the charges.
But when the police searched Dahee's property, they seized a laptop and the smartphone reported to have contained the controversial footage.
It's not the first scandal that Lee Byung Hun has been involved in. Nor is it his frist blackmail case. Before he married actress Lee Min Jung in 2013, he was rumored to be romantically involved at different times with Yoon Eun Hye and Kim Min Hee. He was also involved in an illegal gambling scandal, although he was eventually cleared of the charges. In 2009, The Korea Times reported that a young woman filed a lawsuit against the actor. Kwon Mi Yeon, a young female gymnast filed the lawsuit claiming that he seduced her with false promises of marriage. She wanted almost $100,000 for his fraudulently promising to marry her, which is against Korean law.
Lee Byung Hun was cleared of the charges. However, Kang Byung Ku, a baseball player-turned TV personality was charged with collusion. He threatened to reveal details of that relationship unless the actor paid them. He was charged with extortion but claimed that he was trying to help Kwon Mi Yeon.
As of today, Lee Byung Hun and Da Hee's names were Naver's top most searched phrases.
Lee Byung Hun was last seen in "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" and "Red 2." His upcoming films include "Memories of the Sword," "Terminator: Genisys" and "The Insiders."
Da Hee appeared in the drama "Monstar" with BEAST's Yoon Jung Hyung in 2013. GLAM had a comeback in March 2013 with "In Front of the Mirror."
