Prosecutors Arrest and Indict Former Director Im Jong-heon for 'Bribery in Professional Football Recruitment'... Three Current and Former Directors and Coaches Also Charged

Im Jong-heon, former head coach (age 57) of Ansan Greeners FC in the K League 2, has been indicted on charges of receiving kickbacks from agents and players in exchange for signing players to professional soccer teams.

On the 28th, the 9th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Hyun-ah) formally charged Im with breach of trust, fraud, and violations of the Act on the Regulation of Concealment of Criminal Proceeds, among other charges.

Former Ansan Greeners FC coach Lim Jong-heon.
[Photo by Korea Professional Football League]

The prosecution also non-custodially indicted three others on charges including breach of trust: Shin, former head coach of Yonsei University soccer team (age 64); Shin, professional club senior coach (age 41); and Kim, university soccer team coach (age 39).

Im is accused of receiving 40 million won from agent Choi (currently detained) in exchange for selecting two Korean players while serving as head coach of Thailand Navy FC during 2018?2019. He is also charged with defrauding one player of 60 million won by falsely promising to sign him to a professional club. The prosecution applied charges under the Act on the Regulation of Concealment of Criminal Proceeds after uncovering evidence that Im hid the illicit funds by using accounts under other people's names.

Shin, the former head coach, is accused of receiving 60 million won from Choi in 2017?2018 as a bribe for facilitating the signing of three players to professional clubs. Kim and Shin, the senior coach, are charged with receiving 7 million won and 20 million won respectively from Choi in 2020 for facilitating the signing of one player each. In addition to breach of trust, Kim faces charges of violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act.

The prosecution began investigating Im and others after uncovering evidence of bribery during the ongoing investigation into Choi’s fraud case, which had been transferred from the police.

Choi was initially denied an arrest warrant on charges including mediation of breach of trust and fraud, but after a reapplication, he was detained on the 26th.

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