Tottenham skipper Son Heung Min faces backlash after ex-girlfriend's abortion claims; netizens compare him to Kim Soo Hyun
Tottenham Hotspur star and South Korea's football pride, Son Heung Min, is under intense scrutiny back home. A scandal involving his alleged ex-girlfriend and her current partner has exploded across Korean media, with reports suggesting the actor forced his former girlfriend to have an abortion. The woman and her now-boyfriend have now been arrested, but the scandal has also brought fresh scrutiny against Son. Scroll ahead to find out why.
Son Heung Min controversy: What we know so far
According to multiple Korean media outlets, the incident began when a woman in her 20s, identified only as Yang and believed to be Son's former girlfriend, claimed to have been pregnant with his child last year. She allegedly received KRW 300 million (about USD 214,000) from Son in exchange for her silence and had an abortion.
The two broke up. Fast-forward to her new relationship with a man in his 40s, who reportedly discovered a signed agreement on her phone. That agreement was reportedly a hush document, allegedly stating she'd owe Son KRW 3 billion if she ever spoke about the incident.
He allegedly tried to blackmail Son for another KRW 70 million (roughly USD 50,000) and, when denied, leaked the story to the media. Son then filed a police complaint, prompting arrests of both Yang and her boyfriend on May 18.
While a Channel A report confirmed that Yang indeed underwent an abortion last year, it remains unclear if she was pregnant with Son's baby.
Timeline of the Son Heung-min scandal, as shared by K-netizens
A timeline of Son Heung Min's controversy, as shared by K-netizens, has gone viral on X. Take a look below:
Son Heung-min's alleged ex-girlfriend, now in her early 20s, reportedly became pregnant during their relationship. According to K-media reports, including Channel A, Son allegedly pressured her into having an abortion. He then gave her KRW 300 million (approx. USD 214,000) in hush money and made her sign a contract promising silence, threatening a KRW 3 billion (about USD 2.1 million) penalty if she ever spoke out. The two broke up not long after.
Things took a turn when her new boyfriend—reportedly in his 40s—discovered the agreement while snooping through her phone. He allegedly threatened Son, demanding money. When Son didn't respond, the man leaked the story to the press.
The son quickly filed criminal charges, naming both the man and his ex-girlfriend. Notably, he filed the report not at a local station but at Gangnam Police Station, which isn't in his area. The station acted unusually fast, citing the 'serious nature' of the case. This triggered online speculation, with Korean netizens pointing to Son's rumored connections to influential elites and past ties to figures involved in the Burning Sun scandal.
Police confirmed the woman had indeed been pregnant and had an abortion. But investigators haven't found any proof that she tried to extort money from Son. So far, only the new boyfriend is believed to have made threats.
Despite that, both were booked based primarily on Son's account. The ex-girlfriend told authorities she never blackmailed or conspired with anyone. Still, public opinion quickly painted her as a manipulative 'gold digger,' while the boyfriend, who allegedly initiated the blackmail, is facing far less scrutiny.
According to reports circulating online, the woman was born in 2003. That would make her barely 20 when she dated Son, who is over a decade older. Her current boyfriend is also reportedly much older, raising questions from netizens about why Son, 33, was dating a woman a decade younger than her and even drawing parallels to the Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Sae Ron controversy.
Netizens slam Son Heung Min
One viral post from the popular X (formerly Twitter) page Translating Misogyny in Korea questioned the logic of the media and public's response: 'Korean men often claim that abortion is murder. If so, Son should be seen as someone who instigated the murder of his own child. But instead, he's being portrayed as a poor victim. Meanwhile, the woman who kept quiet is being branded a manipulative gold digger.'
While many still view Son as a blackmail victim, others believe he's using his status to control the narrative, with one user writing, "Son has been portrayed as an innocent man who is always under the harsh control of his father, who barely smiles, and they both live in a Puritan-like lifestyle for long just for delivering a greater performance on the football field. I actually thought he was a virgin, man."
Son has been portrayed as an innocent man who is always under the hash control by his father who barely smiles, and they both live in a puritan alike lifestyle for long just for delivering a greater performance in the football field. I actually thought he's a virgin man. 😬
Another user wrote, "I hope Son plays football again so I can put up a sign calling him a murderer. I used to like him because he was always known as the nice guy, but damn, in the end, Korean men are just disgusting Korean men."
I hope son plays football again so I can put up a sign calling him a murderer. I used to like him because he was always known as the nice guy but dam in the end Korean men are just disgusting Korean men
"Damn, that's insane. Son really gave off a kind and mature type of person, but what he did to that girl is not at all kind and mature; it's so far from his image. It's insane how we, the viewers, forget celebrities are humans and make big mistakes too," a third user wrote.
Dam that's insane, son really gave of kind and mature type of person, but what he did to that girl is not at all kind and mature, it's so far from his image, it's insane how us the viewers forget celebrity's are humans and make big mistakes too.
Meanwhile, Son Heung Min returned to Tottenham's starting lineup for the first time since April 10 during Friday's match and is set to play in next week's Europa League final. 'I'm feeling good and ready to go,' he told SpursPlay. 'It felt great to get some minutes in. I'll be ready for Wednesday.'
For all the latest K-drama, K-pop, and Hallyuwood updates, keep following our coverage here.
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