Coffeesmith CEO sentenced for threatening celebrity ex

The CEO of a popular coffee chain has been given a suspended jail sentence for threatening his ex-girlfriend.

Seoul Central District Court said Wednesday it had sentenced Coffeesmith chief Son Tae-young, 49, to a year in prison, suspended for two years, and 120 hours of community service for threatening Kim Jung-min, 29.

On July 11, 2017, Son was prosecuted without detention after the actress filed a report to the police in April 2017. Kim claimed she had been blackmailed by Son several times following their breakup in 2014.

Son sent Kim text messages from December 2014 to January 2015 asking her to give him 100 million won ($88,400) and return all gifts and money she had received.

He reportedly threatened to publicly damage her reputation with video clips and expose her as a gold digger. Son continued to intimidate his ex-girlfriend into giving 1 billion won in cash.

The judge said Son’s text messages suggest he was not seeking to secure financial gain, but trying to harm the victim. The sentence was handed down in consideration of the settlement reached while the trial was underway. During the trial period, Son agreed to give Kim 350 million won.

By Chyung Eun-ju (ejchyung@heraldcorp.com)