SEOUL, Oct 19 — A car rental company owner in South Korea has been found guilty of blackmailing an unnamed K-pop idol couple after threatening to release dashcam footage showing them being affectionate in a rented van, according to Korea JoongAng Daily.

The Incheon District Court sentenced the man to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered him to perform 120 hours of community service.

The case began in February, when the owner rented out a van to a member of a K-pop girl group. 

After the vehicle was returned, he reviewed its dashcam footage and discovered images of the female idol “engaging in physical contact” with a male artist from another K-pop group.

The man later texted the idol, accusing her of “inappropriate behaviour in the back seat” and warning of “consequences” if she didn’t acknowledge what had happened. 

He then demanded money, claiming the footage was evidence and pointing out that the van had cost 47 million won (RM500,000).

Even after receiving payments in two separate transfers, he allegedly kept threatening to make the footage public unless more money was paid. 

The idol eventually transferred a total of 9.8 million won over three payments.

When handing down the sentence, the court said most of the extorted money had since been returned to the victim. 

It added that the defendant had admitted his guilt and expressed remorse, which led to the suspended jail term.