Horse King, a popular YouTuber with 1.65 million subscribers, has revealed that he was a victim of a webcam sextortion scam eight years ago, where he was lured into a sexually explicit video chat and later blackmailed with the footage.
On May 7, Horse King opened up about the incident, saying that at the time, he had been approached with an offer to work as an underwear model.
During a video call with a woman claiming to be the manager, she complimented him for being "confident," which led him to undress completely and perform a sexual act on camera—footage that was secretly recorded and later used for blackmail.
"The person turned out to be a man pretending to be a woman," he said. "I was blackmailed for money, and just recently, the video was leaked. It's difficult to track down the original perpetrator."
During a livestream, Horse King spoke with his mother on the phone, saying, "I'm strong. Your son finally spoke up." He added, "It wasn't really that hard. This happened years ago, but I kept quiet because I didn't want others to go through the same thing."
His mother responded supportively, saying, "I think it's good that it came out. Maybe now it's finally over."
Meanwhile, Korea's National Office of Cyber Investigation urged victims to report such crimes, noting that "even if the victim pays, the perpetrators rarely keep their promises. In fact, once they receive money, they tend to demand more, and if the victim refuses, they often release the video anyway."
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)