Son Heung Min’s Ex-Girlfriend Arrested, Triggers Intense Backlash From Korean Netizens

A woman who previously accused South Korea’s national football team captain, Son Heung Min, of fathering her child has been formally taken into custody, alongside a man believed to have later joined the scheme to extort money from the player.

The decision has sparked a wave of public backlash, not over the crime itself, but the perceived double standards in how swiftly the case was handled.

On May 17, Judge Yoon Wonmook of the Seoul Central District Court approved arrest warrants for the two suspects: a woman in her 20s, identified as Son’s ex-girlfriend, and a man in his 40s who was reportedly dating her after the incident. Judge Yoon cited “concerns about destruction of evidence and flight risk” as reasons for granting the warrants.

The woman is accused of threatening to expose her alleged pregnancy to the media unless Son paid her a settlement, ultimately receiving over ₩300 million KRW (about $214,000 USD). The man, who is said to have learned of the extortion attempt after entering a relationship with her, later tried and failed to obtain ₩70.0 million KRW (about $50,000 USD) from Son himself. Police arrested both individuals on May 14 after receiving Son’s complaint a week earlier.

While the judge’s ruling might seem routine, the speed and seriousness with which the case was handled has raised eyebrows among many Koreans. Online forums quickly filled with pointed criticisms of the justice system, with commenters expressing frustration over how rarely stalking and blackmail cases involving female victims receive the same urgency — even when lives are at risk.

• “What the hell, did they attempt murder or something?”
• “So it’s this easy to get arrested, yet women who are stalked and threatened still end up dead all the time?”
• “Wow, they’ve really lost their minds. Fuck. I’ll remember this judicial system because of Son Heung Min.”
• “Are they out of their minds? Ha. 😂😂😂”
• “They’re not doing their actual jobs and just tossing sensational crap to the media. Fucking bastards.”
• “A football player really is like royalty, huh? Rich, famous, and male South Korea really lives up to the name ‘Han-nam-guk’ [a slang for a male-dominated Korea].”