'Pro Soccer Signing Bribe' Former Ansan FC CEO Lee Jong-geol's Arrest Warrant Dismissed

The arrest warrant for Lee Jong-geol, former CEO of Ansan Greeners FC (61), who is accused of pocketing tens of millions of won in kickbacks from an agent in exchange for signing professional soccer players, was dismissed on the 7th.

On the same day, Yoon Jae-nam, the judge in charge of the warrant review at the Seoul Central District Court, stated, "At this stage, there is insufficient necessity and validity to detain the suspect," and dismissed the arrest warrant requested by the prosecution against Lee on charges including bribery. The arrest warrant for Bae Mo (44), former head of the club’s player reinforcement team, who was also subject to an arrest warrant request, was also dismissed.

On the morning of the 7th, Lee Jong-geol, former CEO of Ansan FC, is appearing at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, for a detention hearing.

Judge Yoon explained the reasons for dismissing the warrants for both individuals, saying, "Although the suspect disputes some of the criminal facts, he generally acknowledges the basic facts and is remorseful. Since a considerable amount of objective evidence appears to have been secured, the risk of further evidence tampering is low. Considering the suspect’s occupation and family relationships, the risk of flight is also low. Therefore, at this stage, the necessity and appropriateness of detaining the suspect are insufficient." The judge also mentioned the suspect’s age as a consideration regarding Lee.

According to the prosecution, from November last year to January this year, Lee is accused of receiving a total of about 27 million won in cash and luxury watches worth about 17 million won from Choi Mo (36), an agent who was previously arrested, in exchange for signing two players to Ansan FC.

Bae is accused of receiving 30 million won in cash from Choi in three installments as a reward for signing these players while overseeing the club’s scouting operations from August last year to February this year.

The Criminal Division 9 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Hyun-ah), investigating allegations of corruption in professional soccer signings, indicted former Ansan FC coach Lim Jong-heon (57) on charges including bribery, fraud, and violation of the Act on the Regulation of Concealment of Criminal Proceeds for receiving money from Choi as a bribe on the 28th of last month. They also indicted three others without detention?former Yonsei University soccer team coach Shin Mo (64), Shin Mo, a professional club senior coach (41), and Kim Mo, a university soccer team coach (39)?on charges including bribery, and are continuing related investigations.

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