Authorities take steps to prevent corruption in professional sports
Officials from sports governing bodies agreed Tuesday to introduce tougher penalties to prevent match-fixing following the naming of about a dozen professional volleyball players involved in rigging games.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced after meeting with the heads of sports governing bodies Tuesday that it will revise the sports promotion law to introduce severe penalties for illegal sports gambling and match-fixing attempts.
One of the first goals, according to the ministry, is to crack down on illegal online betting.
The revised law will not only punish operators of betting websites, but also people who participate in betting, according to the ministry.
Under the revision, those who make bets on the sites may be jailed for up to five years or fined a maximum of 50 million won ($45,000) while those who set up illegal betting websites may be sentenced to up to seven years in prison or fined a maximum of 70 million won ($63,000).
Choe Kwang-shik (left), minister of culture, sports and tourism, K-League president Chung Mong-gyu (center), and Korea Baseball Organization commissioner Koo Bon-neung prepare to hold a news conference in Seoul on Tuesday. (Yonhap News)
The ministry also announced that it would enhance the punishment for players and teams involved in rigging matches.
Players convicted of match-fixing attempts will be banned for life, and the teams involved may possibly be ousted from their league.
The government will also reduce the annual funding of sports governing bodies if any match-fixing case is found, according to the ministry.
“Fairness is vital in sports, and match-fixing is not acceptable under any circumstance,” Choe Kwang-shik, minister of culture, sports and tourism, said in a news conference, pledging that the ministry will take the strongest possible action against corruption in sports.
“The foundation of our sports is in danger. The government is working together with all the sports bodies to develop comprehensive plans to root out match-fixing.”
Plans also include introducing a “supervisor” scheme which allows authorities to monitor pro games on a regular basis. And the rewards for whistle-blowers of illegal sports gambling will be raised to 100 million won.
Choe also added that the government will look to increase the minimum salaries of pro athletes to prevent them from taking bribes from brokers.
“But in order to root out match-fixing, all the involved governing bodies, officials, players and coaches must be willing to act, and must work together,” he added.
The announcement came less than two weeks after the Daegu District Prosecutors’ Office arrested three professional volleyball players on charges of match-fixing.
At least 17 professional volleyball players, including two players from the women’s top league, are currently under investigation for their alleged connection with a match-fixing scam.
So far, the Daegu District Prosecutors’ Office has confirmed 15 match-fixing cases between the 2009 and 2011 seasons.
The number, however, is expected to climb as prosecutors are looking into whether the suspects contacted other players.
The country’s top pro baseball league is also linked to match-fixing allegations with prosecutors reportedly looking into some of the league’s players.
One of the gambling brokers arrested last month admitted that he contacted two pitchers from a Seoul-based baseball team about rigging games.
The probe into the country’s top pro baseball league will start this week, prosecutors said.
Illegal sports betting first came under the spotlight last year after a dozen of former and active soccer players in the K-League were arrested in an unprecedented match-fixing scandal.
By Oh Kyu-wook (596story@heraldm.com)
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
