South Korean police arrest two people accused of blackmailing Tottenham's Son Heung-min
South Korean police have arrested two people over the alleged blackmail of Tottenham Hotspur captain and soccer superstar Son Heung-min, according to South Korean's Yonhap news agency, after reports a woman threatened him with a pregnancy claim.
Son, 32, had filed a police complaint against a woman and a man for blackmail and threatening to spread 'false information,' his agency, Son & Football Limited, said on Thursday.
'We will take strong legal action without leniency to punish those who have made threats of blackmail with obvious false information,' the agency said in a statement on its website.
The Gangnam Police Station in southern Seoul said it was investigating a woman in her 20s and a man in his 40s on charges of attempted extortion after receiving Son's complaint last week, according to Yonhap.
The woman allegedly approached Son last June, claiming she was pregnant with his child and demanded money in exchange for her silence, Yonhap reported, citing police. She reportedly sent Son an ultrasound image and received 300 million Korean Won ($215,180), the news agency said.
The man, believed to be an acquaintance of the woman, also allegedly tried to blackmail Son in March, demanding 70 million Korean Won ($50,200), Yonhap reported. He did not reportedly receive any money, Yonhap said.
CNN has reached out to the Gangnam Police Station.
Police arrested the woman Wednesday evening local time for blackmail and the man for an attempted blackmail. Authorities raided the two individuals' homes and secured their phones for further investigation, according to Yonhap.
'Son Heung Min is an obvious victim of this incident,' the soccer star's agency said.
'We apologize once again for worrying everyone supporting Son Heung-min with such a scandalous issue,' the agency wrote.
Son is hugely popular in his home country, South Korea, and has become known as one of the greatest Asian soccer players of all time.
Son started playing football as a child in Chuncheon, located about 46 miles northeast of Seoul, under his father's supervision. In 2009, he was chosen to join a prestigious youth training academy in Germany, where he eventually made his professional debut at the age of 18.
He joined Tottenham from Bayer Leverkusen in August 2015 and has since been breaking records set by his role models Park Ji-sung, the first Korean to play in the Premier League and only Asian player to win the men's Champions League, and Cha Bum-kun, who played over 300 matches in the Bundesliga for Eintracht Frankfurt and Leverkusen from 1979 to 1989.
Son has broken records for the most goals scored by a Korean player in a season in a European league. He also became the first Asian footballer to win the Premier League's Golden Boot with 23 goals in the season – level with Liverpool's Mohamed Salah in 2022.
On Sunday, Son returned to play against Crystal Palace after being out for a month with a foot injury. Spurs fans will hope he'll feature in the Europa League final later this month against Manchester United, with Tottenham looking to win its first trophy since 2008.
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