A 2016 document compiled by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism titled Investigation Findings on Misconduct by Staff of the Korea Football Association states that over the one‑year period from March 2011 to March 2012, the Korea Football Association arranged inappropriate sexual hospitality on seven separate occasions for foreign referees assigned to national team fixtures. The matches included qualifiers for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2012 London Olympics, as well as international friendlies.
On the night of 29 February 2012, the 2014 Brazil World Cup qualifier between South Korea and Kuwait took place at Seoul World Cup Stadium. Yet in the early hours of that same day, 500,000 won was charged to the Korea Football Association’s corporate credit card at a massage parlour in Yeoksam‑dong, Gangnam‑gu, Seoul. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism concluded the payment covered sexual hospitality for the two of the referees working the Korea-Kuwait match. Person A from the association’s Referees Department, who processed the payment for sexual services, testified: “The massage fee included payment for sexual favours.” He added: “The foreign referees made the requests first, at the airport or at their accommodation, and we provided the hospitality accordingly.”
On 22 September of the same year, Person A also paid 760,000 won at a massage business in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province. Only two‑and‑a‑half hours earlier, the national side had finished its final London 2012 Olympic qualifier against Oman at the Changwon Football Centre. The ministry judged this sum likewise covered sexual hospitality for the four referees of that match.
At 20:34 on 14 March 2012, 198,000 won was charged to the corporate card at a Chinese‑style massage shop in Yeoksam‑dong, Gangnam‑gu, Seoul. The ministry pointed out this was for sexual hospitality provided to one match supervisor. His role was to monitor whether referees receive improper favours; yet payment for entertainment was made for this supervisor mid‑match.
Drawing on statements from multiple Referee Department officials, credit card transaction records and explanatory submissions from the association, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism concluded that these instances of sexual hospitality had indeed occurred. In response, the Korea Football Association stated: “This incident dates back 15 years. Our document retention period is only five years, so we cannot give an accurate account of every circumstance. While we cannot rule out that regrettable events may have taken place 15 years ago, we have now drawn up and abide by stricter internal‑management guidelines to meet high public expectations.” (
Source: JTBC)
On 25 March 2011, South Korea’s national team played a friendly match against Honduras at Seoul World Cup Stadium. It was the first warm‑up game after team key players Park Ji‑sung and Lee Young‑pyo retired from the national squad. Around 1 a.m., roughly 19 hours before kick‑off, Person A of the Korea Football Association made a payment of 750,000 won at a massage parlour in Yeoksam‑dong. The payment covered expenses for the three referees officiating the match.
Four referees for the friendly match against Serbia on 3 June 2011 and three referees for the game against Poland on 7 October 2011 also received sexual hospitality in the same manner. All these transactions took place in the early‑morning hours at the very same massage parlour.
This improper practice persisted even for matches held in provincial cities. On 27 March 2011, an Olympic team friendly match between South Korea and China was held in Ulsan. Approximately three hours after the final whistle, 510,000 won was paid at a massage parlour in Samsan‑dong, Nam‑gu, Ulsan, to cover sexual hospitality for three referees.
From March 2011 to March 2012, over roughly one-year, sexual hospitality occurred during three World Cup and Olympic qualifiers as well as four friendly matches. A total of 20 match officials are confirmed to have received such favours. Providing sexual hospitality to referees had become an established practice. A former Korea Football Association official in charge of referee‑related affairs stated: “We did it to keep the referees happy.” [Person B / Former senior official, KFA Referees’ Department]: “They (the referees) brought it up themselves by saying ‘We have just taken a long‑haul flight, and our bodies are worn out.’ Anyway, our goal was to keep the referees in a good mood…”. The specific identities of the referees who received sexual hospitality have not been verified. (
Source: JTBC)
The Japan FA has officially opened an investigation into four Japanese referees tied to these matches (including Yuichi Nishimura, who was the head referee for the heavily scrutinized February 2012 World Cup Qualifier against Kuwait). The JFA intends to publicly release the results of their investigation, a move that is drawing significant scrutiny because Ryuji Sato currently serves as a senior manager overseeing J. League referees for the organization.
Major Tournament Qualifiers (3 matches)
21 September 2011 (London 2012 Olympic Qualifier)
Korea – Oman (2–0 win in Changwon)
Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (UZB)
Assistant Referee 1: Abduhamidullo Rasulov (UZB)
Assistant Referee 2: Bakhadyr Kochkarov (KGZ)
Fourth Official: Vladislav Tseytlin (UZB)
29 February 2012 (FIFA World Cup 2014 Qualifier)
Korea – Kuwait (2–0 win in Seoul)
Referee: Yuichi Nishimura (JPN)
Assistant Referee 1: Toru Sagara (JPN)
Assistant Referee 2: Toshiyuki Nagi (JPN)
Fourth Official: Hiroyoshi Takayama (JPN)
14 March 2012 (London 2012 Olympic Qualifier)
Korea – Qatar (0-0 draw in Seoul)
Referee: Valentin Kovalenko (UZB)
Assistant Referee 1: Rafael Ilyasov (UZB)
Assistant Referee 2: Mamur Saidkasimov (UZB)
Fourth Official: Vladislav Tseytlin (UZB)
International Friendlies (4 matches)
25 March 2011
Korea – Honduras (4-0 win in Seoul)
Referee: Ryuji Sato (JPN)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomokazu Tajiri (JPN)
Assistant Referee 2: Shinya Iribe (JPN)
Fourth Official: Lee Min-Hu (KOR)
27 March 2011
Korea U23 – China U23 (1-0 win in Ulsan)
Referee: Ryuji Sato (JPN)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomokazu Tajiri (JPN)
Assistant Referee 2: Shinya Iribe (JPN)
Fourth Official: Kim Sang-Woo (KOR)
3 June 2011
Korea – Serbia (2-1 win in Seoul)
Referee: Ali Al-Badwawi (UAE)
Assistant Referee 1: Mohammad Al-Jassim (UAE)
Assistant Referee 2: Hasan Al-Mahri (UAE)
Fourth Official: Kim Jong-Hyeok (KOR)
7 October 2011
Korea – Poland (2-2 draw in Seoul)
Referee: Nawaf Shukralla (BHR)
Assistant Referee 1: Ebrahim Saleh (BHR)
Assistant Referee 2: Nawaf Moosa (BHR)
Fourth Official: Ali Abdulnabi (BHR)
