Soccer star's sister-in-law apologizes for sex video blackmail
By Yoon Min-sikPublished : Feb. 21, 2024 - 11:05
South Korean soccer star Hwang Ui-jo's sister-in-law, currently on trial accused of blackmailing Hwang and distributing his private videos, recently submitted a letter of apology to the court admitting that she did intentionally reveal the videos.
The defendant surnamed Lee said that she committed the crime so she could punish her brother-in-law "for being ungrateful" to her and her husband.
"We gave up everything in South Korea and looked after (Hwang) for five years as he stayed abroad. But my husband and Hwang had a disagreement over player management, while (Hwang) was preparing to return to English Premier League last year," she wrote in the written statement.
Hwang, currently a signed to EPL club Nottingham Forest, joined Norwich City on loan earlier this season, after a brief stint with South Korean club FC Seoul, also on loan. He was loaned to Alanyaspor of the Turkish league on Feb. 6, and is slated to play with the team until the end of this season.
"I found in (Hwang's) phone a sex video of him with a woman, and I wanted to use it to threaten Hwang and make him depend on us again. ... I made sure that the woman's face was not exposed, by editing the video," she wrote, claiming that it was never her intent to sabotage his career or harm the woman.
Last June, Lee distributed the videos online, claiming that she was his former girlfriend. Prior to the trial, she had claimed that the videos were leaked by a hacker.
A police investigation found that, a month before releasing the videos, Lee threatened to release the videos by sending Hwang messages like, "It will be fun if (the videos) got out," "Just wait and see."
The videos sparked an ongoing investigation against Hwang, on suspicion of illegally filming his sexual encounter with a woman. He is also accused of inflicting further damage by publicly disclosing details about her that could lead to her identification.
Hwang has claimed the videos were filmed with the consent of both parties, while the female victim has claimed that she never agreed to be filmed and repeatedly asked Hwang to delete the video.