[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] A woman in her 30s who threatened to reveal past dating details to the public and extorted money from a current professional baseball player was sentenced to a fine by the court.
On the 16th, according to the legal community, Judge Nam Shinhyang of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 17 sentenced Jang (37, female), who was indicted on charges including blackmail, to a fine of 10 million KRW and 8 months imprisonment with a 2-year probation. The court criticized, "Jang’s crime involved threatening the victim to extort money and spreading false information and insults, which is very serious." Jang appealed the ruling.
Previously, Jang was indicted for repeatedly threatening professional baseball player Lee from July to October 2017 via SNS and other means, threatening to disclose their past relationship, and extorting about 15 million KRW. Jang, who dated Lee for about three years from October 2011, committed the crime out of resentment after Lee refused to meet following their breakup.
Jang is also accused of defamation for posting multiple false statements on Lee’s Instagram account in January 2019, such as "I supported him for 5 years but he betrayed me and cheated. He even married the woman he cheated with." The posts included insults like "I hope that his terrible personality and dirty private life will never be forgotten among baseball fans," and "son of a b****." The prosecution added charges of insult and brought her to trial.
The court found all of Jang’s charges guilty. However, regarding the blackmail charge, the court imposed a fine considering fairness with a previously confirmed suspended sentence for fraud, which was prosecuted separately. In October 2018, Jang was sentenced by the same court to 6 months imprisonment with a 2-year probation for fraud, and that sentence was finalized.
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