The owner of a car rental company was found guilty of extorting money from a pair of Kpop idols by threatening to release footage recorded by the vehicle’s dashcam.
According to court sources published Saturday, the Incheon District Court convicted the rental company owner of blackmail and sentenced him to eight months in prison, suspended for two years. The court also ordered 120 hours of community service.
In February, the owner rented a van to a member of a female Kpop group. After the vehicle was returned, he reviewed the dashcam footage and discovered the singer in physical contact with a male artist from another Kpop group.
The owner then sent several messages to the renter, accusing her of inappropriate behavior on the back seat and mentioning the man’s group, while warning that there would be consequences if she did not acknowledge the incident. He demanded money, citing the vehicle’s purchase cost of 47,000,000 won (approximately 29,000 euros) and using the footage as leverage.
Even after receiving two money transfers, the owner continued to threaten to make the videos public unless additional payments were made, again referring to the dashcam recordings. The idol ultimately transferred a total of 9.8 million won in three payments.
During sentencing, the court noted that most of the extorted money had been returned to the victim and considered the defendant’s confession and expressed remorse. As a result, the court handed down a suspended prison sentence.
Journalist: Shawn
Translator: Shawn
Source: Korean Medias
