ID :
185302
Mon, 05/30/2011 - 12:43
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Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/185302
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Player under match fixing suspicion found dead amid widening scandal
SEOUL, May 30 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean professional footballer suspected of involvement in a widening match fixing scandal was found dead at a Seoul hotel Monday, police said.
According to police, Jeong Jong-kwan, a midfielder for a third-division league team Seoul United, was found hanged at a hotel room around 1:40 p.m. Monday. Police added they found a note saying, "I am ashamed to have been a part of match fixing."
Jeong was 29 years old. He had been with Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in the top-division K-League from 2004 to 2007.
The apparent suicide came as prosecutors in Changwon, about 400 kilometers southeast of Seoul, are expanding their probe into the match fixing scandal that broke last week. Five active players, including four from Daejeon Citizen, have been arrested on charges of taking money from gambling brokers and deliberately making mistakes to help their teams lose. Two such brokers have also been arrested for paying players.
Changwon prosecutors said Jeong had been teammates on his high school football club with the two arrested brokers and that they were set to question him for his possible involvement in the scheme.
Also in his note, Jeong wrote, "All the players under investigation are my friends, and it's only because of their loyalty that they haven't brought up my name. It's all my responsibility."
With K-League reeling from the scandal, Chung Mong-kyu, the commissioner of the league, issued a public apology on Monday.
In a press conference, Chung said he will try to "eradicate" any attempts at match fixing and other forms of illegal gambling from K-League.
"It may be a painful process but we must eliminate anything that's detrimental to the fundamental spirit of football," Chung said. "The league office fully realizes its responsibility."
Chung vowed to hand out severe punishments to implicated players but said the games will continue to be played.
"Prosecutors are carrying out their investigations but we don't know yet at this point how many players are involved," he said. "The games must go on."
The match-fixing scandal comes as a severe blow to the 16-club K-League, which has been struggling with dwindling game attendance.
K-league's attendance has dropped in each of the past three seasons, while the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) has enjoyed record spectators during the same period.
According to police, Jeong Jong-kwan, a midfielder for a third-division league team Seoul United, was found hanged at a hotel room around 1:40 p.m. Monday. Police added they found a note saying, "I am ashamed to have been a part of match fixing."
Jeong was 29 years old. He had been with Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in the top-division K-League from 2004 to 2007.
The apparent suicide came as prosecutors in Changwon, about 400 kilometers southeast of Seoul, are expanding their probe into the match fixing scandal that broke last week. Five active players, including four from Daejeon Citizen, have been arrested on charges of taking money from gambling brokers and deliberately making mistakes to help their teams lose. Two such brokers have also been arrested for paying players.
Changwon prosecutors said Jeong had been teammates on his high school football club with the two arrested brokers and that they were set to question him for his possible involvement in the scheme.
Also in his note, Jeong wrote, "All the players under investigation are my friends, and it's only because of their loyalty that they haven't brought up my name. It's all my responsibility."
With K-League reeling from the scandal, Chung Mong-kyu, the commissioner of the league, issued a public apology on Monday.
In a press conference, Chung said he will try to "eradicate" any attempts at match fixing and other forms of illegal gambling from K-League.
"It may be a painful process but we must eliminate anything that's detrimental to the fundamental spirit of football," Chung said. "The league office fully realizes its responsibility."
Chung vowed to hand out severe punishments to implicated players but said the games will continue to be played.
"Prosecutors are carrying out their investigations but we don't know yet at this point how many players are involved," he said. "The games must go on."
The match-fixing scandal comes as a severe blow to the 16-club K-League, which has been struggling with dwindling game attendance.
K-league's attendance has dropped in each of the past three seasons, while the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) has enjoyed record spectators during the same period.
