adminAn agent whose arrest warrant was renewed for allegedly paying off a professional soccer club official in exchange for a recruitment has been detained.
The Seoul Central District Court issued a renewed arrest warrant for agent Choi Mo-chee, 36, on Sept. 26, saying she was likely to destroy evidence. Choi is accused of handing over a total of 100 million won to professional club officials, including former Ansan Greeners FC head coach Lim Jong-heon and former Yonsei University soccer coach Shin Mo-chee, with requests to join the club.
In 2018 and 2019, Choi allegedly handed over 40 million won to then-Thai Navy FC coach Im Jong-heon in exchange for the selection of two Korean players. He is also accused of paying former Yonsei coach Shin Mo-soo 60 million won in 2017 and 2018 to recruit three players to professional teams. In addition to Lim and Shin, Choi is accused of paying coaches and managers of professional soccer clubs to recruit players.
Choi, whose arrest warrant was previously dismissed, appeared at the second pre-arrest interrogation (warrant substantive examination) on the same day and denied the allegations of paying back money. “No,” Choi said in response to a reporter’s question, “Do you admit to giving money to the manager and coach?
The prosecution found additional evidence that Choi paid tens of millions of won to Ansan FC representative Im and scout Bae Mo to sign two players, and raided the offices and homes of Im and Bae Mo on March 18. Prosecutors are expanding the scope of their investigation to include other former and current club officials and leaders who were directly involved in scouting players for money, either together or alone. The prosecution believes that the numerous backroom deals that occurred in the process of recruiting players for Ansan Football Club may have involved famous former national team players and leaders of famous professional clubs. 꽁머니지급