Conman poses as Son Heung-min's friend, swindles W100m from girlfriend

The South Korean police said Thursday that they were searching for a man in his 30s who is believed to have swindled around 100 million won ($73,000) from his former girlfriend while pretending to be a close friend of soccer superstar Son Heung-min.

The suspect, a former professional soccer player, is believed to have extorted the money from the victim in 2021. He borrowed money from her on 19 occasions between May and December of that year, saying that he needed money for an "entertainment business" that he planned to launch.

The suspect tricked the victim to believing that he can pay back the money, saying he has 1.2 billion won in his bank account which had been temporarily seized by authorities and a sports car that he could sell. He also pretended to be close friends with the Tottenham Hotspur forward, based on a photo they took together in 2014.

When the suspect refused to pay back the debt, the victim filed civil charges against him in 2022. An investigation revealed that the photo was the only time the two had met each other, and the suspect had 1,700 won in his bank account at the time.

The suspect's whereabouts has been unknown since 2022, and officials at Seocho Police Station and Gangnam Police Station are attempting to track him down.