The signboard for the Korea Football Association (KFA) is seen outside its headquarters in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, Thursday. Yonhap
The national football federation apparently provided sexual entertainment to foreign referees before and after international matches held in Korea between 2011 and 2012, a past government audit report has shown.
The audit report, compiled by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2016, said the Korea Football Association (KFA) used corporate credit cards to pay for sexual entertainment for visiting referees at massage parlors and other adult establishments in Seoul and other cities that hosted international matches between March 2011 and March 2012.
Those matches included qualifiers for the 2012 London Olympics and the 2014 FIFA World Cup, according to the report.
About a dozen referees and match coordinators for seven matches received these favors from the KFA. Those officials were from Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Bahrain and Uzbekistan.
Korea went undefeated in those seven contests with five wins and two draws.
In the two Olympic qualifying matches, Korea beat Oman 2-0 on Sept. 21, 2021, and then had a goalless draw against Qatar on March 14, 2012, though Korea had already secured their Olympic spot before that game.
On Feb. 29, 2012, Korea blanked Kuwait 2-0 to advance to the next phase of the World Cup qualification.
It may be difficult to establish a direct correlation between the KFA’s action and the match results, since Korea were favored in all three matches and none of the wins can be reasonably regarded as an upset. Still, these findings from a government audit represent yet another black eye for the oft-criticized organization.
The KFA may also escape sanctions from FIFA. Per FIFA Code of Ethics, breaches of its provisions cannot be prosecuted after five years, while the period is 10 years for bribery and corruption cases.
Offenses related to sexual abuse, harassment and exploitation are not subject to any limitation period, though paying for sexual entertainment may not fall under this category.
Cho Chung-yun was president of the KFA at the time. In announcing findings from its audit in December 2016, the ministry said it had asked police for further investigation on Cho on charges of misappropriating the KFA’s funds and also said the KFA’s former and current employees had used their corporate cards at massage parlors and other inappropriate places.
The ministry said Friday its earlier audit did look into allegations of providing sexual entertainment to referees, but it chose not to disclose further details 10 years ago because it had difficulty verifying all the facts.
Also, KFA employees accused of improper corporate card use were not convicted and did not receive any discipline from the KFA.
JTBC was the first to report on this case Thursday. Former KFA officials told the broadcaster that those international referees specifically asked to be served at adult establishments and that it was “a common practice at the time” to oblige them. One former KFA executive claimed that such a practice was even more egregious in other countries.
A current KFA official said it was difficult to verify uses of its corporate cards from that long ago but said it has since implemented strict internal guidelines.
The report surfaced only hours after police raided the KFA headquarters in Cheonan, some 90 kilometers south of Seoul, and the KFA House in Seoul as part of a probe into the KFA’s 2024 appointment of ex-men’s national team head coach Hong Myung-bo.
Police seized documents that they believe will help them determine whether there had been any improper meddling and obstruction by KFA leaders, including its former chief Chung Mong-gyu, during the coaching hiring process.
Both Hong and Chung stepped down from their posts in the aftermath of Korea’s elimination from the group stage at this year’s World Cup. They were also called in to testify during a parliamentary session on July 30, with lawmakers grilling them about much-criticized operations at the KFA and reasons behind Korea’s early exit from the World Cup, among other issues.
