Former Actor Who Extorted 50 Million Won from Lee Also Faces Same Sentence
Prosecutors: "Serious Case and Bad Crime Nature"
The prosecution has demanded heavy sentences for a nightlife establishment manager and a former film actor who were indicted for extorting over 300 million won by threatening actor Lee Seon-gyun, who died while under investigation for drug use. Photo by Yonhap News Agency.
The prosecution has sought heavy sentences for a nightlife establishment manager and a former actress who were charged with extorting over 300 million won by threatening actor Lee Seon-gyun, who died while under investigation for drug use.
On the 25th, Yonhap News reported, "At the sentencing hearing presided over by Judge Hong Eun-sook of the Incheon District Court Criminal Division 4, the prosecution requested seven years in prison each for nightlife establishment manager A (30, female) and former actress B (29, female), who were charged with blackmail and other offenses." The prosecution explained the reason for the sentence request in court, stating, "Defendant A committed the crime in a planned manner, including purchasing burner phones, by exploiting the fact that the victim was a celebrity. The case is serious, and the nature of the crime is also bad."
However, A's defense attorney argued in the final defense, "It was not the defendant A who blackmailed Lee, but B psychologically controlled A and embezzled money from Lee's acquaintance," and claimed, "B, who has committed many crimes, manipulated and threatened the defendant." A also expressed her grievance in her final statement, saying, "From the beginning, I was threatened by the blackmailer about my relationship with my brother (Lee), and I wanted to quickly give the money and end it to protect my brother," and "I liked him so much that I never even thought about blackmailing him."
B, who appeared at the sentencing hearing that day, said, "I sincerely apologize to the victim," and "I will do my best to restore the damage and live with a heart of lifelong apology." B's attorney also stated, "From the middle of the investigation, the defendant admitted most of the wrongdoing and testified truthfully," and "We sincerely apologize to the victim and have been reflecting a lot during incarceration." The sentencing hearing for them is scheduled to be held at the Incheon District Court on the morning of the 19th of next month.
A was arrested and indicted last September on charges of extorting 300 million won from Lee by calling him and saying, "My phone is hacked, and I am being threatened, so I need money to keep quiet." Police investigations later revealed that the hacker threatening A was B, who lived in the same apartment and was on friendly terms. Upon learning that A had used methamphetamine and was close to Lee, B impersonated the hacker using an illegal SIM chip and committed the crime. However, when B failed to extort money from A, she directly threatened Lee.
B is accused of threatening Lee from October 13 to 17 last year, demanding 100 million won and eventually extorting 50 million won. A, who has six prior convictions including drug offenses, was previously arrested and indicted last November on charges of using methamphetamine or marijuana three times and was sentenced to one year in prison last month. B, who has a past conviction for fraud, is known to have appeared in minor roles in films produced in 2012 and 2015.
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