The man and woman accused of blackmailing South Korean national soccer player Son Heung-min (33, Tottenham Hotspur) have been indicted and detained.

On June 10, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Criminal Division 3, Chief Prosecutor Choi Soon-ho) formally indicted a woman in her 20s, surnamed Yang, on charges of blackmail and attempted blackmail. Her alleged accomplice, a man in his 40s surnamed Yong, was also referred to trial on the same charges.

Yang is accused of extorting 300 million KRW (approximately $220,000) from Son in June of last year. She allegedly sent him a fetal ultrasound image and threatened to reveal a fabricated pregnancy to the public unless he paid up.

Investigations revealed that Yang had previously tried to blackmail other men using similar fabricated claims of pregnancy, but failed. She then contacted Son and falsely claimed to be pregnant with his child.

The money obtained through the initial blackmail was reportedly spent on luxury goods. Facing financial difficulties again, Yang allegedly planned a second blackmail attempt earlier this year. This time, she colluded with her boyfriend Yong in March, but the second attempt failed.

Although the initial reports suggested that Yong acted alone, police uncovered evidence that the two had conspired together during the process of demanding an additional 70 million KRW from Son. The pair had allegedly coordinated their stories beforehand.

Prosecutors later recovered additional digital evidence, including forensically reanalyzed mobile phones, bank records, and phone call logs, confirming the conspiracy. Based on these findings, Yang was indicted for attempted blackmail in the second incident.

The prosecution has expressed a firm stance on the matter:

"We will do our utmost to ensure that the defendants are held appropriately accountable for their crimes," they said.

[Photo Credit: Dispatch DB]