Ten people, including professional team officials, university leaders, and agents, who received money and valuables in exchange for joining a professional soccer team, were put on trial. Former coach Tae-wook Choi, who served as national team coach during the time of former coach Paulo Bento (Portugal), was also indicted without detention on charges of breach of trust.안전놀이터
On the 13th, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office’s Criminal Division 9 (Chief Prosecutor Kim Hyun-ah) announced that two people were detained and indicted on charges of breach of trust and enrichment, eight people were indicted without detention, and one person’s indictment was suspended. Former Ansan FC Greeners coach Lim Jong-heon and agent Choi were indicted, while former Ansan CEO Lee Jong-geol and Ansan power strengthening team leader were indicted without detention. The prosecution of an agent who is fleeing overseas has been suspended.
According to the prosecution, Lee Jong-geol, former CEO of Ansan, is accused of receiving a Mercedes-Benz car worth 50 million won, a Rolex watch and cash worth about 27 million won from the players’ parents and agent Choi in exchange for allowing two players to join the team. There is also a charge of receiving 9 million won from former coach Lim Jong-heon in exchange for his appointment as Ansan coach.
Coach Lim Jong-heon was also arrested last July on charges of receiving 45 million won from his agent Choi in exchange for joining a player, and defrauding a player’s father of 60 million won by deceiving him by telling him that he would let him join a professional team. The head of the Ansan club’s power enhancement team was indicted without detention on charges of receiving 30 million won in exchange for players’ membership, and a university coach was indicted on charges of receiving 60 million won in personnel expenses.
In particular, the prosecutors believe that Choi, the agent who was arrested and indicted, donated a total of 129 million won to five people, including CEO Lee Jong-geol, and in the process colluded with former coach Tae-wook Choi, who was also a former teacher of the player he was trying to recruit, and the elementary school soccer team coach.
The prosecution announced in May of this year that it had uncovered such a systematic crime by conducting an investigation, including re-examination of the person involved, account tracing, and seizure and search, regarding a case in which agent Choi swindled 20 million won from a player in exchange for joining the pro league. It is reported that the police decided not to forward Agent Choi’s fraud case.
As a result of the investigation, the prosecution booked five people, including two university coaches, four professional team leaders, and an agent who donated or participated in the bribery, and among them, coach Lim and his agent, who received a large amount of money over a long period of time, were each arrested and indicted. The arrest warrant for CEO Lee Jong-geol was dismissed on the grounds that there was no risk of flight.
A prosecution official said, “In order to block the acquisition of profits from crimes, we took recovery measures such as collection preservation, and notified the Korea Football Association, which manages and supervises coaches and agents, of the misconduct,” adding, “The defendants take player burial lightly as a custom.” “We will do our best to maintain the prosecution so that the punishment is commensurate with the crime.”