Sexual bribes to referees, lies and cover-ups: The scandal rocking South Korea
A major scandal has erupted in South Korea: a government report revealed that in the early 2010s, football association officials bribed foreign referees with visits to brothels. The affair, which has reignited the country's gender war, is causing widespread public outrage.
The South Korean national team entered the World Cup with high expectations. Placed in a relatively favorable group (the host nation, Mexico, the Czech Republic, and South Africa), the team played its group stage matches in Mexico, where South Korean culture—from BTS and Blackpink to series like 'Squid Game'—is immensely popular. Despite a promising opening win against the Czech Republic, two subsequent losses, including a defeat to South Africa, prevented the team from reaching the knockout stage. This was a bitter disappointment for the 'golden generation' of South Korean football, including stars like Son Heung-min, Kim Min-jae, and Lee Kang-in.
President Lee Jae-myung, furious at the early exit, ordered the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Tourism to launch an investigation. Shortly thereafter, coach Hong Myung-bo resigned, followed by the chairman of the South Korea Football Association amid allegations of nepotism. These events hit a society already weary from political instability, including the April 2025 dismissal of President Yoon Suk-yeol by the Constitutional Court following his declaration of martial law in late 2024.
However, this was only the beginning. A new scandal is now rocking the nation. A government report has revealed that between 2011 and 2012, football association members bribed foreign referees officiating matches, including 2012 Olympic and 2014 World Cup qualifiers. The bribes consisted of visits to brothels and massage parlors, paid for with association credit cards and categorized as 'sexual entertainment.' Police raided the association's offices last week, and Japanese authorities have opened investigations into their own referees suspected of accepting the bribes.
This scandal is unfolding against the backdrop of a fierce gender war in South Korea. With prostitution illegal and the country facing a record-low birth rate of 0.7, the revelation that public funds were used for paid sexual services has sparked intense anger. Furthermore, it has emerged that the initial report detailing these payments was prepared by the Ministry of Sports as early as 2016 but remained shelved until this week. For the South Korean public, this represents a systemic failure of accountability involving the government, the football association, and the attorney general, far exceeding the scope of a mere sporting disappointment.
