The Chinese government announced that South Korean national football team midfielder Son Jun-ho (Shandong Taishan), who is active in China, is in criminal detention on charges of bribery.
According to Reuters and the BBC on the 16th (Korean time), Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wonbin answered a question about Son Jun-ho at a regular briefing that day, “A South Korean national was recently detained by public security in Liaoning Province on charges of ‘bribing non-state actors. ” he replied.
Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said, “China is a country ruled by law. We handle related cases according to the law and guarantee the various legitimate rights and interests of the parties.”
“The Liaoning Provincial Public Security Agency notified the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Shenyang. We plan to provide conveniences necessary for consular officers on the Korean side to perform their consular duties.”
The crime of accepting bribes by non-state actors is applied when a person belonging to a company or other unit that is not a government agency illegally accepts property. If a sports player received an unfair request related to a game and took money or valuables, 안전놀이터 he could be involved in this crime.
Shandong Taishan, Son Jun-ho’s team, was recently investigated by the public security for coach Hao Wei for match-fixing. As a result, there were observations that Son Jun-ho may be accused of match-fixing. However, agent Son Jun-ho denied the allegation of match-fixing, saying, “We are being investigated for bribery.”
On the 12th, Son Jun-ho was arrested while trying to leave the country through Shanghai Airport. ‘Reuters’ quoted Korean diplomatic authorities in China and said, “The consulate requested a meeting with Son Jun-ho as soon as possible.”
Agent Son Jun-ho said, “It seems that the Korean consul and Son Jun-ho will meet tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, the Korea Football Association (KFA) sent an official letter to the Chinese Football Association and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in relation to the Son Jun-ho case and started to understand the situation.