▲ Korea Football Association
Police have concluded that the statute of limitations has expired for the charge of arranging prostitution in connection with the Korea Football Association's (KFA) so-called referee sexual entertainment scandal.
During a press briefing today (August 19), an official from the National Police Agency stated, "It appears that the statute of limitations for the charge of arranging prostitution has expired, but we will look into whether any further verification is possible."
Previously, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism found circumstances through an audit in 2016 indicating that the KFA provided sexual entertainment to around 10 people, including foreign referees and supervisors, across a total of seven matches—comprising three World Cup and Olympic preliminary matches and four evaluation matches—between 2011 and 2012. This fact became known belatedly, causing a major backlash.
Because the incident occurred 15 years ago, the statute of limitations had been considered a key variable in the police investigation.
While applying charges such as occupational breach of trust or the Act on the Punishment of Acts of Arranging Sexual Traffic could be considered, under current law, cases with a statute of limitations exceeding 15 years typically apply only to major serious crimes.
The police stated that they confirmed that following a request for investigation by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2016, they investigated multiple suspects for occupational breach of trust and forwarded the case with a recommendation for indictment in October 2017.
Meanwhile, the investigation into Starbucks' "Tank Day" promotion is still ongoing.
A National Police Agency official stated, "We are currently analyzing the seized materials following the search and seizure on the 5th," and added that they will proceed with the investigation according to due process.
Regarding the progress of the special investigation team probing the December 29 passenger plane disaster, the official explained, "Since its launch, we have additionally booked 26 people, bringing the total number of individuals under investigation to 74."
The official added, "Except for certain allegations related to the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board, including aircraft defects, we expect to wrap up the investigation within the year."
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