Prosecutors Detain Agent Choi Involved in 'Professional Soccer Recruitment Corruption'

Securing Custody After Repeated Warrant Requests

The prosecution, investigating allegations of corruption in professional soccer recruitment, has arrested agent Choi (36) on charges of bribing professional soccer team managers and coaches to secure player signings.

On the 26th, Judge Yoon Jae-nam, in charge of warrant hearings at the Seoul Central District Court, issued an arrest warrant for Choi on charges including breach of trust and mediation of bribery. Judge Yoon cited concerns over potential evidence tampering as the reason for granting the warrant.

Agent Choi, involved in the 'professional soccer recruitment corruption' allegations, is attending the pre-arrest interrogation as a suspect at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-dong, Seoul, on the morning of the 26th.

Choi is accused of giving 40 million won to former Ansan Greeners FC (Ansan FC) manager Lim Jong-heon (57, currently detained), who was the manager of Thailand Navy FC in 2018-2019, in exchange for selecting two Korean players. Around the same period, Choi is also suspected of bribing professional team coach Shin and university manager Kim with 20 million won and 7 million won respectively to influence player selection. Additionally, Choi faces charges of fraud for extorting 20 million won from a player by falsely promising to secure a position in a professional team.

The prosecution also uncovered evidence that Choi gave 60 million won to former Yonsei University soccer team manager Shin (64) in 2017-2018 to facilitate the signing of three players to professional teams, but this was excluded from the warrant due to the statute of limitations.

When Choi appeared at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-dong, Seoul, for a pre-arrest hearing that morning, he briefly denied the allegations of bribing managers and coaches, responding "No," before entering the courtroom.

After two warrant requests, the prosecution secured Choi’s detention. Previously, the prosecution had requested arrest warrants for former manager Lim, Shin, and Choi, but the court only approved Lim’s warrant and dismissed those for Choi and Shin.

Following additional investigations, the prosecution uncovered further evidence that Choi gave tens of millions of won to Ansan FC representative Lee (61) and scout Bae to have two players signed. A search and seizure operation was conducted on the 18th, and the prosecution refiled the arrest warrant for Choi last week.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.