▲ Korea Football Association
Police, who have been investigating allegations of illegality in the appointment of former national team head coach Hong Myung-bo, stated that they will review whether they can also investigate the recently surfaced Korea Football Association (KFA) "referee sexual favors" scandal.
During a regular briefing on Monday (August 10), an official from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency addressed whether an investigation into the sexual favors case would be launched, saying, "We will review it if we initiate an investigation. We have not launched one yet."
This implies that it is not immediately subject to investigation.
The official stated, "It seems necessary to review prosecution requirements and other factors, but detailed information has not been verified yet," explaining that basic investigation requirements, including the statute of limitations, have not yet been identified.
The issue has been causing consecutive repercussions after it was belatedly revealed that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism confirmed through an audit in 2016 that the KFA provided sexual favors to about 10 individuals, including foreign referees and match commissioners, across seven matches—comprising three World Cup and Olympic qualifiers and four friendly matches—between 2011 and 2012.
Because the incident occurred 15 years ago, the statute of limitations is a major hurdle for police to immediately launch an investigation.
For this case, potential charges such as professional breach of trust or violations of the Act on the Punishment of Acts of Arranging Sexual Traffic could be reviewed.
However, under current law, cases with a statute of limitations exceeding 15 years typically apply only to major crimes.
Even if the allegation of sexual favors is confirmed, the police cannot investigate if the statute of limitations has expired.
The police are currently focusing their investigation on the appointment of former coach Hong, pouring their investigative capabilities into scrutinizing the KFA decision-making process that led from the National Team Strengthening Committee to the Board of Directors.
The official stated, "The procedure-related materials (secured through the search and seizure) are meaningful."
Following the recent consecutive summons of figures from the football community who served as members of the Strengthening Committee at the time, the police have also successively questioned suspects including former coach Hong and former KFA Technical Director Lee Im-saeng.
On the 6th, they also executed a extensive search and seizure targeting the KFA offices and other locations.
It was reported that the mobile phone of former President Chung Mong-gyu was also secured.
Regarding suspicions surrounding the replacement of former President Chung's mobile phone, a police official stated, "We will faithfully investigate, including those aspects."
Meanwhile, the police are also investigating suspicions that Starbucks insulted persons of national merit of the May 18 Democratization Movement through its "Tank Day" promotion.
On the 5th, 76 days after launching the investigation, they conducted a search and seizure at the Starbucks headquarters.
Regarding criticism that the search and seizure, which should have been executed promptly, was delayed, an official from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said, "It is not late. It took some time because there were supplements needed regarding the search and seizure midway."
The official added, "It is important to see with what intent and how the persons involved in the case participated in the decision-making," and explained, "Various legal judgments are also required."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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