Agent Admits Bribery... Prosecution Expands Investigation into 'Professional Football Recruitment Deals'

The prosecution is expanding the scope of its investigation as it consecutively secures the custody of key figures involved in the 'professional soccer recruitment kickback' case, which originated from a player agent fraud case. The main suspect, agent Choi Mo (36), reportedly admitted to most of the charges during the prosecution's investigation and confessed to the transactional practices involved in the process of players joining professional clubs. The upcoming decision on whether to detain a senior official of Ansan Greeners FC, a second division professional soccer team (K League 2), is expected to be a turning point in the investigation.

According to the legal community on the 2nd, former CEO Lee Jong-geol (61) of the Ansan club and former head of the strength enhancement team Bae Mo (44) will undergo a pre-trial detention hearing (warrant review) on the 7th, presided over by Judge Yoon Jae-nam of the Seoul Central District Court. Earlier, the 9th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Hyun-ah) filed arrest warrants against the two on the 31st of last month on charges of breach of trust and embezzlement.

Lee is accused of receiving a total of 27 million KRW, including cash and luxury watches, from Choi between November last year and January this year in exchange for facilitating the signing of two players to Ansan. Bae is accused of receiving 30 million KRW in cash from Choi between August last year and February this year while overseeing the club's scouting operations in exchange for signing players. If the two are detained, the prosecution's investigation is expected to gain momentum. Previously, former Ansan coach Lim Jong-heon (57) was indicted while in custody, and after a reapplication for a warrant, Choi was also detained.

The prosecution plans to verify whether there was an organized conspiracy at the Ansan club level regarding player selection. According to sources inside and outside the prosecution, the investigation team summoned a former national team coach, Mr. A, on the 31st of last month for questioning and has confirmed facts through multiple individuals involved in recruiting players to Ansan. It is reported that during his time coaching youth players at a certain professional club, Mr. A facilitated the signing of players affiliated with Ansan, which was uncovered through the prosecution's investigation. The prosecution questioned him to determine whether any illicit transactions occurred during this process. For now, the prosecution appears to be focusing its investigation squarely on the Ansan club.

This case originally stemmed from agent Choi's fraud case. Jo Mo, a former university soccer player, filed a fraud complaint against Choi at the Seocho Police Station in 2020, claiming he was deceived by Choi, who demanded kickbacks during Jo's signing process with Daegu FC in the first division professional soccer league (K League 1) in 2017, resulting in a loss of about 20 million KRW. The prosecution took over the case at the end of last year and is currently investigating.

As the prosecution took charge, the case expanded from Choi's personal corruption to the broader soccer community. While tracing the use of the kickback money by examining Choi's bank account details, the prosecution newly confirmed that suspicious funds flowed to former coach Lim Jong-heon and others, prompting a forced investigation into Lim and the Ansan club. On the 28th of last month, Lim, former university soccer team coach Shin Mo (64), professional club head coach Shin Mo (41), and university soccer team coach Kim Mo (39), all of whom were investigated for receiving kickbacks from Choi, were indicted.

The legal and soccer communities are closely watching whether the prosecution's investigation will expand beyond Ansan to the entire professional soccer world. According to the soccer community, besides Ansan, there are reportedly 5 to 6 other professional clubs across the first and second divisions that received players from Choi. Consequently, there is speculation that these clubs may also come under the prosecution's investigation in the future.

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