Bar Manager Who Extorted ₩300M From Late Actor Lee Sun-kyun Faces 7-Year Sentence Again
During the appellate hearing on May 21, the prosecution at the Incheon District Court Criminal Appeals Division 3 requested the same sentence as the original trial—7 years in prison for the woman identified as Ms. A (31), on charges of blackmail.
Ms. A’s lawyer pleaded for leniency, stating, “She acted out of extreme fear after receiving threats from an unknown person. She regrets her actions deeply.” Her legal team also expressed remorse toward Lee Sun-kyun’s bereaved family, saying, “She will spend her life atoning for this crime. We sincerely apologize to the family once again.”
Ms. A was arrested and indicted in September 2023 for calling Lee Sun-kyun and falsely claiming her phone had been hacked and she needed money to keep the matter quiet, extracting ₩300 million from him.
Police investigations later revealed that the person who had threatened Ms. A was actually Ms. B (30), a former actress who lived in the same apartment complex and was close to her. Ms. B knew of Ms. A’s drug use and her connection to Lee Sun-kyun, and pretended to be a hacker to blackmail Ms. A. When that failed, she contacted Lee Sun-kyun directly in October 2023, demanded ₩100 million, and successfully extorted ₩50 million.
In Ms. B’s case, the prosecution did not proceed with sentencing during the appeal due to her lawyer’s absence.
In December 2023, the lower court sentenced Ms. A to 3 years and 6 months in prison, while Ms. B received 4 years and 2 months. Ms. A appealed the verdict immediately.
Separately, Ms. A has a criminal record with six previous convictions, including drug charges. She was already sentenced to 1 year in prison in October 2023 for receiving and using ketamine and methamphetamine on three occasions between December 2022 and August 2023.
Tragically, Lee Sun-kyun passed away suddenly on December 27, 2023, while under investigation for alleged drug use.