South Korean footballer Son Jun-ho (Taishan, Shandong), who has been detained by Chinese police for three weeks, is attracting attention with speculation that he will be released soon.
“Son Jun-ho, who has been held on suspicion of involvement in football match-fixing, has denied bribery charges and will return to South Korea after being acquitted,” China’s Sina.com said on 3 March, citing a reliable source.
Son has been detained by public security authorities in Liaoning province since his arrest at Shanghai Pudong International Airport in China on 12 March. Son, who had been granted leave by Fabio after suffering from a cold, was detained at the gate as he attempted to leave the country with his family.스포츠토토
He has reportedly been detained for three weeks on suspicion of “soliciting non-state actors”. The offence applies to cases where a person who works for a company or other organisation that is not a government organisation illegally receives property from another person using the convenience of their job.
This means that Son participated in match-fixing and received illegal payments. Son participated in four match-fixing matches last season under the leadership of his teammate Qin Jingdao.
In response, the KFA dispatched CEO Jeon Han-jin and an in-house lawyer to China on the morning of the 1st to meet with local lawyers and officials from the Chinese Football Association to determine the exact details of the case against Son. It is still unclear what exactly Son is accused of and how the case is being investigated.
Jin Jingdao, an ethnic Korean who goes by the Korean name Kim Kyung-do, is being held by Chinese police on match-fixing and gambling charges. However, Son Jun-ho’s ability to communicate in Korean has led to his possible criminal involvement with Jin Jing-dao.
However, the media outlet concluded that “Son Jun-ho is likely to be fine. He participated in the match-fixing without being aware of it,” emphasising that “he did not receive any payment after the match-fixing”.
Given his close relationship with Qin Jingdao, it seems that the Chinese authorities were unable to find any evidence of his involvement in match-fixing after three weeks of investigation. If the media outlet’s information is true, Son should be released in the next few days.
The previous day, the outlet said, “Son Junho and Qin Jingdao were both Korean and shared a common language,” adding, “Son Junho called Qin Jingdao ‘big brother’. Jin Jingdao often took him out for drinks after the match,” and accused him of match-fixing.
“What Sun Jungho should do now is to actively cooperate with the authorities’ investigation as ‘lenient if he confesses, but strict if he resists,'” he wrote, in effect, threateningly.
At the end of the article, the media outlet claimed to be the voice of the fans and indirectly expressed their dissatisfaction by saying, “It doesn’t make sense to release him just because he didn’t take the money,” and “In the end, the ‘not guilty’ verdict was due to diplomatic issues. It is a ‘disgrace to Chinese football’ to send him back so quickly.”