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Lee Sun Kyun extortion case: Prosecutors seek 7-year jail term for manager as netizens voice outrage
Lee Sun Kyun’s side has appealed for a harsher sentence after his blackmailer was sentenced to 3.6 years in prison. Learn more here.
Trigger Warning: This article contains mention of drug abuse.
Lee Sun Kyun was blackmailed by his 31-year-old manager after she discovered the late actor's drug abuse. Following that, she threatened him and extorted money, details of which surfaced after the actor's death in 2023. It led to an ongoing court case, where the accused was initially sentenced to 3.6 years in prison. According to a May 21 report by News1, after the second trial, the court upheld the previous verdict. However, the prosecution appealed for a stricter sentence.
Late actor Lee Sun Kyun's manager, referred to as A, was accused of using her knowledge of his substance abuse to blackmail him for money. She was indicted by the 3rd Criminal Appeals Division of the Incheon District Court on charges of extorting 300 million won from the Parasite star in September 2023. She scammed him by calling and saying, "Your phone has been hacked and you are being threatened, so I need money to keep quiet."
After the details of cyberbullying and swindling came to light, a case was filed against A, and after the first trial, she was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months of prison. However, the prosecution argued that the time A was to serve in jail was not enough as compared to her crime. In the second trial, the court upheld the same verdict and the prosecution once again requested that the court “overturn the verdict and sentence them according to the original verdict (of 7 years).”
The attorney of the defendant requested that the sentence not be any stricter, as manager A was herself being threatened for money by an unknown person. The legal representative argued that A "made a wrong choice (money extortion from Lee Sun Kyung) due to fear," and her situation must be kept in mind before announcing the final verdict. Many netizens took to the discussion portal theqoo to argue that 7 years in prison would be too much for a crime of that sort. While others expressed their frustration, stating that a lighter sentence was being given to A due to her gender, which was improper.
Disclaimer: If you know someone who is struggling with alcohol or substance abuse, please reach out to the authorities and report it. There are several helplines available for the same.
