▲ A former screen actress appears for a court hearing on Dec. 28, 2023, on charges of blackmailing late actor Lee Sun-kyun. (Yonhap)

actor death-blackmailers

2 women referred to prosecution for allegedly blackmailing late actor Lee

SEOUL, Jan. 5 (Yonhap) -- Police referred two women, including a bar hostess, to the prosecution Friday for further investigation and potential indictment on charges of blackmailing late actor Lee Sun-kyun.

The Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency referred the 29-year-old bar hostess and her 28-year-old female acquaintance, known to be a former screen actress, to the prosecution on charges of blackmailing Lee and swindling a total of 350 million won (US$266,605) out of him.

Lee, best known of his role in the Oscar-winning film "Parasite," took his own life last week while an investigation was under way into his alleged illegal drug use at the home of the hostess, who worked at a high-end bar in Seoul's Gangnam district, on multiple occasions last year.

The hostess is accused of having swindled Lee of 300 million won in September, telling Lee that "an unknown hacker was trying to divulge our relationship" and money was needed to silence the hacker.

The former actress, meanwhile, is suspected of separately extracting 50 million won from Lee in October in connection with the alleged drug use.

The two women became friends while serving prison terms together and have since remained very close, living in the same apartment building, according to police officials.

The former actress has been identified as the informant providing a tip-off on the bar hostess's alleged drug use and submitted her hair sample to the police in October.

Police suspect that the former actress initially blackmailed the bar hostess to swindle money from Lee in connection with the drug allegations but came to the police with a drug tip-off about her after the blackmailing scheme failed.

The former actress, who had minor roles in two movies produced in 2012 and 2013, had previously been convicted of fraud.

The bar hostess, with six previous drug convictions, was already standing trial on fresh drug charges.

"Police have concluded that the two women were not accomplices," a police official said without elaborating.

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