S. Korea World Cup squad to receive cash reward

SEOUL, June 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's football squad will receive up to 80
million won (US$62,000) as a reward for its seventh consecutive advance to the
World Cup finals, officials with the sport's governing body said Thursday.
A total of 2 billion won will be distributed to 42 players whose names appeared
at least once on the roster during eight matches of the final Asian qualifying
round, officials from the Korea Football Association (KFA) said.
South Korea booked a berth at next year's global football event in South Africa
alongside Asian powerhouses Australia, Japan and North Korea, by finishing
unbeaten --four wins and four draws -- in the qualifiers which ended on June 17.
The athletes will be categorized into six groups based on the number of their
appearances and their contributions to the team's success, and will be given cash
rewards of between 5 million and 80 million won, according to the officials.
Captain Park Ji-sung of England's Manchester United, who played in seven games,
is expected to be included in the top group and receive the highest prize.
Head coach Huh Jung-moo will receive 120 million won, while assistant coaches are
expected to be awarded 80 million to 100 million won, they said.
Four years ago, players in the 2006 World Cup were divided into four groups and
given cash rewards of 20 million to 80 million won.
brk@yna.co.kr
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