A rental-car company owner has been convicted of extortion for threatening a female idol after reviewing dash-cam footage that captured her with another male idol.

According to the ruling, Incheon District Court’s Criminal Division 14, Judge Gong Woo-jin, sentenced the defendant, referred to as A, to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered 120 hours of community service.

The incident unfolded last February when A rented a van to a female idol identified as B. After B returned the vehicle, A checked the dash-cam and saw B engaging in interactions with another male idol.

A then texted B, asking what she had done in the back seat and mentioning the male idol’s group, adding that if she would not admit it, there would be no choice but to take further action and demanding money.

The extortion occurred in two installments, with B transferring about 9.79 million won to A. He was charged with extortion.

The first-instance court noted that A committed the crime while under a suspended sentence and was highly reproachable, but most of the extorted funds had been returned, and the defendant had admitted his wrongdoing and shown remorse, leading to a suspended prison term.