Rental car operator guilty of extorting idol couple with dashcam footage

A rental-car company owner who extorted money using a private video of a female idol captured by an in-vehicle black box has been found guilty.

On Oct. 18 KST, Judge Gong Woo Jin of the Incheon District Court (Criminal Division 14, single-judge) sentenced A to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered 120 hours of community service on a charge of extortion. The ruling is now final.

According to the judgment, A rented a VAN to a female idol, identified as B, in February 2024. After the vehicle was returned, A reviewed the black box and found footage of B engaging in physical affection with a member of another male idol group. A then decided to demand money, texting, "What did you do in the back seat yesterday? Isn’t that too much?" He pressed further by naming the man’s group and warning, "If you won’t admit it even after this, then there’s nothing we can do," before requesting money: "The car cost about 47 million KRW—give me half for starters."

The threats continued beyond the first payment. Even after receiving money twice, A messaged again days later, referencing the device—"It records in real time, all the way through,"—and implied the footage would be shared if payment stopped. Terrified, the victim transferred a total of about 9.79 million KRW (about 7,300 USD) across three payments.

Under Korean law, extortion is established when a person obtains property or gains through threats; penalties can reach up to 10 years’ imprisonment or a fine of about 20 million KRW (about 15,000 USD).

In imposing a suspended sentence, the first-instance court noted that A committed the offense while already under a suspension period, but also considered that most of the money had been returned and that A admitted the crime and expressed remorse. The court said it determined the sentence by weighing the degree of coercion and the total amount taken.