Prosecutors seek seven years in prison for Lee Sun-kyun’s blackmailers

Prosecutors have requested seven-year prison sentences for a bar hostess and a former actress accused of extorting a total of 350 million won ($250,000) from the late actor Lee Sun-kyun.

At a hearing on Monday at the Incheon District Court, prosecutors argued that the defendants -- a 30-year-old hostess surnamed Kim and a 29-year-old former actress surnamed Park -- committed the crime with malicious intent, exploiting Lee’s celebrity status.

Kim was arrested and indicted in January for allegedly blackmailing Lee and extorting 300 million won by falsely claiming her phone had been hacked. She demanded hush money, threatening to leak damaging information. Kim worked at a high-end bar in Gangnam that Lee reportedly frequented.

Investigators later discovered that the alleged hacker was Kim’s acquaintance, Park, who lived in the same apartment complex. Park had impersonated a hacker to extort money from Kim, claiming to have evidence of Kim's drug use and her association with Lee.

When Park failed to extract money from Kim, she separately blackmailed Lee, obtaining 50 million won.

Kim, who had six prior drug convictions, was sentenced to one year in prison for using illegal drugs.

The blackmail offenses surfaced during Lee's trial for alleged drug use last October. While the investigation was underway, Lee, best known for his role in the Oscar-winning film "Parasite," died in an apparent suicide in December. Lee had claimed he was manipulated into taking the drugs without knowing what he was given. He tested negative in all drug screenings conducted during the investigation.

During the hearing on Monday, Kim stated that she had been blackmailed over her relationship with Lee and wanted to resolve the situation quickly. "I never intended to hurt someone I cared about so deeply," she said, referring to Lee. Meanwhile, Park apologized in court, saying she would dedicate her life to making amends.

The court’s ruling is scheduled for December 19.