South Korea's Football Body Apologizes over Sex Scandal

The Korea Football Association (KFA) issued an apology on Saturday, following media reports that it had provided sexual services to foreign referees in 2011 and 2012. The referees were in the country for qualifying matches for the 2014 World Cup and the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

JTBC television cited a 2016 investigation by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The investigation found that the KFA provided inappropriate entertainment to foreign referees on seven occasions. This included visits to massage parlors, with the fees covering the cost of sexual services.

In a statement, the KFA said these were incidents that occurred more than ten years ago, of which even many within the organization were unaware. At the same time, it emphasized that such behavior, or the use of corporate credit cards for similar purposes, absolutely does not occur today.

The allegations came at a time when the association was already facing increased pressure over another case. On Thursday, Seoul police raided the KFA's offices as part of an investigation into the 2024 appointment of national team coach Hong Myung-bo. His selection came under scrutiny after the KFA abandoned its search for foreign candidates and, following a brief meeting, chose Hong, who had previously coached the team from 2013 to 2014.

(Reuters, Max)