Police judge statute of limitations expired for 'referee prostitution solicitation' amid controversy over 'referee sexual favors' at the Korean Football Association

*This content was translated by AI.

Police investigating allegations of past sexual favors to foreign referees by the Korea Football Association have determined that the statute of limitations has expired for the charge of soliciting prostitution.

According to NEWSIS and others on the 19th, police stated at a regular press conference held at the National Police Agency in Migeun-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, that "as of now, it appears the statute of limitations has expired" regarding past allegations of sexual favors to referees by the Korea Football Association.

Earlier, it was revealed that from March 2011 for one year, the Korea Football Association provided sexual favors to over 10 foreign referees who had entered the country to officiate FIFA World Cup and Olympic qualifiers, as well as evaluation matches for the national A team and Olympic team, sparking controversy. Sexual favors were confirmed in seven matches only, during which South Korea achieved five wins and two draws.

The fact of sexual favors was confirmed through an audit by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism four to five years later in 2016, but this information remained undisclosed externally until recently. Since the sexual favors occurred 14 to 15 years ago, whether police would investigate hinged on the statute of limitations, and police have concluded that the statute of limitations has expired.

A police official added, "The case was referred for investigation by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2016, and records show that most suspects at the time were investigated for breach of trust and sent for prosecution in October 2017," while noting, "We are also verifying the prostitution solicitation aspect, but it has been quite a long time since then, making fact-finding difficult. We are reviewing whether there are additional matters to verify."

Meanwhile, on the 8th, the Korea Football Association issued a statement saying, "We deeply apologize for causing concern through reports about events from over a decade ago that even many internal members were unaware of," and "The association clearly states that such inappropriate behavior or card usage is absolutely not occurring at present."

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*This content was translated by AI.