A group of individuals has been officially offending for blackmailing a famous singer by threatening to release sensitive personal photos and data recovered from the old artist’s phone.
According to legal sources on April 16, the criminal division of the Office 7 of the central district of Soul, led by the chief prosecutor Kwon Sung-Hee, inclined a man identified by the surname Hong on April 11. He was accused of joint blackmail pursuant to the punishment of violent acts.
Hong and two accomplices would discover a cell phone that once belonged to the singer and found photos and private data. They are accused of threatening to lose the content unless the singer paid 500 million krw (about 351,000 USD). According to reports, the group managed to extort about 100 million wins (about 70,000 USD) before the authorities intervened.
The blackmail came to light after the singer’s agency presented a police relationship. Hong was arrested by the police on March 17 in the County of Yangpyeong, province of Gyeongi. Following the arrest, the accusation expanded the investigations and proceeded with formal accusations.
Another accomplice, Kwon, who is currently in custody for a different crime, has also been indicted in relation to this case. A third individual, indicated only as A, is under further investigations as the accusation required further investigations from the police to determine their level of involvement.
According to reports, one of the suspicions admitted that they were under discussion that were previously linked to a notorious criminal band, raising concerns about the organized nature of the regime.
The case aroused public indignation and renewed requests for stronger protections against violations of digital privacy and blackmail that aims to public figures.
