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Popular Korean actor, Park Seo Joon was recently seen cheering and posing with South Korea’s star footballer Son Heung Min during the UEFA Europa League final, celebrating the team’s first major club trophy win. The Tottenham Hotspur skipper Son is currently embroiled in a controversy involving a woman claiming to be his ex-girlfriend who was allegedly carrying his child. On May 15, the Gangnam Police Station detained a woman in her 20s and her current boyfriend, a man in his 40s. They were arrested in a blackmail case after trying to extort money from Son, who earlier filed a complaint claiming to be the victim. The story exploded online and later intensified with new revelations made by The Dispatch, revealing the timeline of when money was paid to the woman for an abortion.
Son Heung Min’s popularity has clearly taken a hit in light of his recent controversy, which had already turned sour a few days ago after an old video resurfaced, showing him with infamous Burning Sun scandal figure Jung Joon Young. However, that didn’t stop the Gyeongsang Creature star, Park Seo Joon, from celebrating bestie Son’s big moment. In a now-viral video, the two are seen hugging and jumping in joy after Tottenham’s big win. The duo even posed together for the camera. Son shared pictures and wrote: “Champions! Come on, you Spurs.” Their friendship goes way back. In fact, Son once said during his 2019 documentary Sonsational, “Park is always on my side, no matter what I do. I can learn a lot from him.” The Itaewon Class star, who is also a Wooga Squad member, being a close friend of BTS member V and other Korean stars like Park Hyung-sik and Choi Woo Shik, even saved Son’s name in his phone as “Sonshine.”
While for Son, this victory was huge—having signed with the team in 2015, played over 600 matches (454 for Tottenham), and reached the finale multiple times—this was his first major trophy since his debut with Hamburg in 2010. But online, things are pretty tense, as many have accused the star player of using his power and connections to sway the case in his favour.
A young woman in her early 20s, known only by her last name, Yang, claimed she used to date Son until last year. During that time, she got pregnant. According to a few reports, Son allegedly pressured her into having an abortion, then paid her 300 million Korean won (around USD 214,000) to keep quiet. But the controversy didn’t stop there. Reports say she was even asked to sign a legal agreement that said if she ever talked about it, she’d have to pay 3 billion won (about USD 2.1 million) back to Son. The two eventually broke up.
Now, at present, Yang is dating someone mentioned as ‘B’ in the official complaint. According to the investigation, police uncovered that B got his hands on Yang’s phone and found the contract. He then tried to take advantage of the paper and started blackmailing Son. He allegedly threatened to expose the footballer unless he was paid another 70 million won (about USD 50,000). Son refused to follow through, and the story leaked online. On May 18, police arrested both Yang and her boyfriend. Though it’s not clear if the woman is involved. According to the police investigation, it’s confirmed that she did have an abortion, but they haven’t proven she was trying to blackmail Son. So far, only the boyfriend is believed to have made the threats.
On the other hand, Son’s agency released a statement saying, “Son & Football Limited has filed a criminal complaint for blackmail against individuals who threatened the player by claiming they would spread false information.” They added further, “We will take strong legal action against those who engaged in blackmail and intimidation based on clearly false claims.”
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