Anyang Mayor Max Dae-ho, who has been under police investigation for paying a penalty imposed on professional football club FC Anyang out of his own pocket, has been referred to the prosecution.

Gyeonggi Anyang Dongan Police Station announced today (August 14) that Mayor Max was referred to the Anyang Branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors Office on July 22 on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act.

As the owner of FC Anyang, Mayor Max held a press conference on May 20 of last year, stating, "We can no longer remain silent about the unfair refereeing decisions that have repeatedly occurred in various FC Anyang matches." He added, "These are accumulated, serious refereeing errors that go beyond simple misjudgments and are at a level that can determine the flow and outcome of a game."

He also remarked, "The K League is managed by only a few corporate-backed clubs. Improvements are needed," suggesting that citizen-funded clubs face discrimination compared to corporate clubs in refereeing decisions.

At the time, Mayor Max's remarks faced backlash amid criticism that they could divide corporate and citizen clubs and raise suspicions of match-fixing. Consequently, the professional football league's disciplinary committee referred FC Anyang to a hearing and imposed a fine of 10 million won.

Mayor Max subsequently paid this fine with his own personal funds.

In response, the Dongan-gu Election Commission in Anyang conducted an investigation and issued an administrative measure, while a citizen filed a complaint against Mayor Max for violating the Public Official Election Act, leading to a police investigation.

Mayor Max has maintained that "paying the fine out of pocket was done personally to fulfill my responsibility as the club owner."

However, following legal reviews and consultations with prosecutors regarding whether Mayor Max's actions violated the Public Official Election Act's provisions restricting "donation acts," police concluded that there was illegality.

Even for a citizen club where the mayor serves as the ex officio owner, authorities determined that a politician paying a fine levied against the club out of personal funds constitutes "providing financial benefits" to an institution or organization within the constituency.

Nevertheless, since there are no identical legal precedents regarding this matter, fierce legal battles are expected during the subsequent trial process.

Meanwhile, Mayor Max is also under separate investigation on charges of providing a lunch worth approximately 300,000 won to about 10 members of his constituency who attended a gathering at a restaurant near Anyang Art Park on August 18 of last year.

This separate case, unrelated to the FC Anyang incident, is currently being investigated by the Anyang Manan Police Station.

(Photo: Yonhap News)