Police have concluded that the statute of limitations has expired for the charge of arranging prostitution in connection with the Korea Football Association (KFA) "referee sex entertainment" scandal.
During a regular press briefing today (August 19), the Korean National Police Agency stated that it confirmed multiple suspects involved in the sex entertainment allegations were investigated for occupational breach of trust following a request for investigation by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2016, and were sent to prosecutors with a recommendation for indictment in October 2017.
The police also explained, "We are also looking into the allegations of arranging prostitution at the time, but it is difficult to verify the facts as a considerable amount of time has passed."
They added, "It appears that the statute of limitations for the charge of arranging prostitution has expired."
Controversy erupted after it was belatedly revealed that an audit by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2016 found the KFA had provided sex entertainment to around 10 individuals, including foreign referees and match commissioners, across seven matches—consisting of three World Cup and Olympic qualifiers and four friendly matches—between 2011 and 2012.
With the incident taking place 15 years ago, the statute of limitations was cited as a major obstacle for police investigation.
While charges such as occupational breach of trust or the Act on the Punishment of Arrangements of Commercial Sex Acts could be considered, the statute of limitations for these charges is not that long, and under current law, statutes of limitations exceeding 15 years apply only to major crimes.
The police stated, "We will look into whether any additional verification is possible regarding the allegations of arranging prostitution."
(Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video by Lee Yu-jin | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News)
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