(OSEN)

Singer and actor Kim Hyun-joong, who has been embroiled in acrid legal conflicts with his ex-girlfriend, claimed Friday that he has been blackmailed by his former girlfriend, surnamed Choi, along with a local news agency.

“Choi shared the documents related to her pregnancy and miscarriage with the newspaper, which then told Kim’s management agency that they have the files. This would have imposed severe strain on the actor,” said Kim’s attorney Lee Jae-man on Friday through a local news outlet.

As Kim and his agency felt pressured, they surrendered 600 million won ($510,000), after which Choi withdrew the litigation and the newspaper did not report the news related to Kim, according to Kim’s assertion.

Kim previously filed a criminal suit against his ex-girlfriend for “calumny, blackmail, defamation and fraud,” along with a petition to forbid her from traveling abroad, in response to Choi’s claim for 1.6 billion won in damages for physical assault and her pregnancy.

By Ko Ji-seon (jiseonko@heraldcorp.com)