Sister-in-law admits releasing sex tapes of South Korean footballer

According to South Korean newspaper Hankook Ilbo, the woman, surnamed Lee, who previously denied charges of illegal distribution of videos and blackmail, submitted a letter to the judge and confessed on Feb. 21.

"I committed the crime to teach my brother-in-law a lesson and wanted him to rely on me and his brother again," Lee wrote in the letter.

She said she and husband had given up their stable life in South Korea to support Hwang Ui-jo's success by staying abroad for five years. But last year, during the process of returning to his Premier League club, there was friction between Hwang and her husband over player management, which frustrated her.

Striker Hwang Ui-jo plays for South Korea national football team. Photo by Instagram/@hwanguijo_official

She explained her action: "I felt betrayed because I thought my husband's hard work and dedication was not appreciated at all. I also felt more betrayed because I gave up studying and my dreams because of Hwang. I followed my husband to live abroad and was living a lonely life."

She said she wanted to threaten Hwang with the videos so that he would rely on her and her husband again.

Hwang's sex scandal broke out last June when a series of explicit videos of him with multiple women leaked online.

He was accused of secretly filming sex scenes with them without their consent. The 31-year-old striker, who is playing for Turkish club Alanyaspor, on loan from Premier League side Nottingham Forest, was put under investigation.

He was also banned from the South Korea national football team during the investigation.

In November 2023, police detained Hwang's sister-in-law Lee and accused her of releasing the sex tapes. At that time, Lee denied the accusations, saying her phone was hacked and vowed never to harm her brother-in-law.

"Prime example of birds of a feather flock together. Both needed to learn a lesson," one social media user commented about the issue.

"Bringing in family is generally a red flag. The safest are the established professionals. Too many people (friends & family) change when there's money involved," another said.

Before joining Nottingham Forest in 2022, Hwang spent three years at French club Bordeaux. He was called up to the national team in 2015 and has scored 19 goals in 62 appearances.