Referee sexual favours scandal envelops Korean football

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FT Desk

South Korean football is in crisis after an investigation found that sexual favours given to foreign referees were commonplace at the Korean Football Association.

A report by the nation's Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism was actually made a decade ago but the findings are only now being made public.

The investigation uncovered that KFA credit cards were used to make payments totalling 5.6 million won (£2,927) for “sexual entertainment” at massage parlours visited by foreign referees who travelled to South Korea to officiate matches in the early 2010s.

Among those referees were officials who took charge of qualifying matches involving South Korea for the 2014 World Cup and the 2012 London Olympic Games, both of which the nation qualified for.

An official for the KFA reportedly told cable news network JTBC that "it was common practice back in those days".

The KFA said in a statement: "We offer our deepest apologies for the disappointment and concern caused by the various controversies.

"However, we wish to clearly state that such inappropriate conduct or misuse of corporate cards is absolutely not occurring at the association at present.

"Our association, which ought to bring joy and exhilaration to football fans through the fierce pursuit of goals and the fair sportsmanship that emerges in the process, has recently lost sight of its fundamental purpose and finds itself in a truly dire situation."

In the statement, the governing body also apologised for South Korea's poor performance at the 2026 World Cup, in which they were eliminated at the group stage. Manager Hong Myung-bo and KFA president Chung Mong-gyu subsequently resigned after the tournament due to the backlash over the failure to qualify from the group.

Police raided the KFA's headquarters last week as part of an investigation into alleged "obstruction of business" linked to Hong's appointment as manager. There were concerns that Hong was, for some reason, hired extremely quickly for a second spell in charge of the nation despite a lengthy interview process for other candidates.

The Japanese Football Association has, in turn, investigated four of its referees who officiated South Korean matches during the period of the alleged misconduct. Kyodo News reports that two of them are said to have received sexual favours.

Out of all the referees who officiated matches during the period of investigation, a lot of them have retired but some are still taking charge of fixtures in various countries.