"Just Can't Break Up"... 30s Celebrity Partner Turns Violent and Threatening After Breakup Notice, Sentenced to Prison

Demanded 5 Million Won... Slapped Saying Money Is Short
Continued Harassment Including Defamation, Assault, and Trespassing

A woman in her 30s who threatened a man she had dated for 10 days by using his celebrity status as leverage to extort money and assault him was sentenced to prison.

According to the legal community on the 24th, the Criminal Division 1 of the Uijeongbu District Court Namyangju Branch (Chief Judge Choi Chi-bong) recently sentenced Ms. A to 10 months in prison on charges of extortion, assault, trespassing, and defamation.

Court of the Republic of Korea.
Photo by Asia Economy DB

Ms. A was prosecuted for threatening Mr. B in the early morning of August 18, 2022, at her home in Namyangju after he broke up with her, saying, "We just can't break up," and "You’re afraid of malicious comments, so what do you think I’ll do if we break up like this?" She extorted 2.4 million won in cash from him.

At the time, Ms. A demanded 5 million won from Mr. B as a condition for breaking up, but when there was only 2.4 million won in Mr. B’s account, she slapped him 10 times, saying, "I need to get 5 million won, but since I only got 2.4 million won, I will slap you 10 times."

On the same day, Ms. A attempted to enter Mr. B’s house again, but when the door lock password had been changed and the door would not open, she rang the doorbell and forcibly tried to enter by pulling the door handle, resulting in an additional charge of trespassing.

Ms. A’s offenses continued thereafter. From August 22 to 30 of the same year, she sent over 800 text and KakaoTalk messages to Mr. B that could cause fear or anxiety, such as "Because of you, I developed depression and had to get treatment, and I will expose everything," and "You played with me." She also left false comments on Mr. B’s social media posts.

During the trial, Ms. A claimed, "The money I received was compensation for the penalty I had to pay due to Mr. B’s fault," and "There was light contact on the face, but it was with Mr. B’s consent."

The court did not accept these claims based on evidence such as audio recordings of the assault.

The court stated, "Although the defendant initiated affection and they dated for a very short period, she demanded money from the victim without reasonable grounds, assaulted him, and made false statements that harmed the victim’s social reputation, which is not a minor offense."

It added, "Despite the significant mental suffering the victim endured due to the defendant’s crimes, she did not make sincere efforts to compensate the victim, and since the victim still petitions for severe punishment, a prison sentence is unavoidable," explaining the sentencing rationale.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.