Lee Byung-hun Testifies in Blackmail Trial

Published on 2014/11/25 | Source

Actor Lee Byung-hun arrives at the Seoul Central District Court on Monday.

Actor Lee Byung-hun appeared in the Seoul Central District Court on Monday to testify against two women accused of blackmailing him.

Prosecutors had earlier asked for the two to be tried behind closed doors due to privacy concerns. The pair, a member of a K-pop girl group identified by her surname Kim (20) and a model surnamed Lee (25) allegedly threatened to publish a video clip in which the actor is heard to make lewd remarks unless he paid them W5 billion (US$1=W1,114).

Lee arrived in court at around 1:37 p.m. accompanied by a small army of bodyguards. He did not answer questions from reporters. When the barrage of questions continued, Lee sought refuge in a bathroom before heading into the court room.

A lawyer representing the two women claimed Lee approached the model first and that the actor offered to buy her a house in exchange for sex.