Report: South Korean Union Funded “Unethical Services” for Foreign Rulers

A media report on Friday stated that the Korea Football Association (KFA) is suspected of providing “unethical services” to foreign referees between 2011 and 2012, a period that included a World Cup 2014 qualifier against Kuwait, based on a previous government audit report.

According to the South Korean news agency Yonhap, an audit report prepared by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2016 revealed that the KFA used its own credit cards to pay for “unethical services” at massage parlors and adult establishments in Seoul and other cities that hosted international matches between March 2011 and March 2012.

The specific matches included a friendly against Honduras in March 2011 (4-0), a friendly against the Chinese Olympic team (1-0), a senior team match against Serbia in June (2-1), a London Olympics qualifier against Oman in September 2011 (2-0), a friendly against Poland in October (2-2), a World Cup qualifier against Kuwait in February 2012 (2-0), and a March 2012 Olympics qualifier against Qatar (0-0).

During these seven matches, the South Korean national team remained undefeated, securing five wins and two draws.

Yonhap reported that approximately 12 referees and match coordinators from various countries received these services.

Citing former KFA officials, the GTBC network stated that such practices were “common at the time,” and that some referees specifically requested to be taken to adult establishments.

According to Yonhap, these facts had already been uncovered in 2016 but were not disclosed to the public at the time.

Although massage parlors offering “unethical services” are widespread in South Korea, prostitution is illegal under the law. Additionally, the internal regulations of international football federations prohibit providing any form of financial compensation or benefits to referees.