Director Choi Soon-ho “I think it’s just Son Jun-ho accepting bribes… Responsibility should be replaced with an apology.”

Suwon FC general manager Choi Soon-ho gives his inauguration greeting (Suwon = Yonhap News) Reporter Hong Ki-won = New Suwon FC general manager Choi Soon-ho is giving a greeting at the inauguration ceremony held at the Suwon City Sports Center in Jangan-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do on the afternoon of the 2nd. 2023.1.2 xanadu@yna.co.kr
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Seol Ha-eun = Director Choi Soon-ho of professional soccer team Suwon FC apologized for his responsibility, saying that he recruited Son Jun-ho, who was permanently expelled from the Chinese Football Association on match-fixing charges, after understanding that he was involved in an issue at the level of bribery. He announced that he would replace it.
Suwon FC general manager Choi Soon-ho said at the Suwon City Council Personnel Hearing Special Committee held on the 2nd, “We recognized Son Jun-ho’s charges as being at the level of receiving bribes.”
Son Jun-ho was criminally detained by Chinese public security in May last year while playing for Taishan, Shandong, China, on the charge of ‘bribery of non-state agents.’
The crime of bribery of non-state agents applies to cases where a person belonging to a company or other unit other than a government agency illegally receives another person’s property using the convenience of his or her job.
Director Choi did not know exactly what the ‘crime of bribery of non-state agents’ was when he was hired, but he claimed to have been fully aware of it last September when the Son Jun-ho issue became serious, and he said he had no idea whether he was involved in match-fixing.
He explained the reason for deciding to recruit Son Jun-ho, saying, “I thought the disciplinary action only applied in China, and the charges and disciplinary action did not apply elsewhere. I thought we had to get the final ruling from FIFA.”
Director Choi said that responsibility for the ‘Son Jun-ho incident’ would be “replaced with an apology.”
He pledged, “I apologize for being a little behind in my moral awareness, and I continue to say that I will keep this in mind to prevent such problems from occurring in the future,” and added, “I clearly promise to look into this in more detail and prevent such incidents from happening.”
Jun-ho Son with his head bowed (Suwon = Yonhap News) Reporter Jun-woo Kwon = Former national soccer team member Jun-ho Son (Suwon FC) sheds tears while holding a press conference regarding his permanent expulsion from the Chinese Football Association at the Suwon City Sports Center in Jangan-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do on the afternoon of the 11th. Son Jun-ho, who was released in March after being detained by Chinese police for 10 months amid suspicions of Chinese professional soccer match-fixing, was permanently expelled from the Chinese Football Association. 2024.9.11 stop@yna.co.kr
Director Choi, who said that he had terminated the contract with Son Jun-ho thanks to the insertion of a termination condition as a safety measure in the event of a risk related to detention in China, said, “If such a clause had not been created, unless Son Jun-ho expressed his intention to ‘I will also terminate the contract’ (cancellation would not be possible) ) It cannot be done, and there will be problems with paying the remaining salary,” he said.
In response to a question about what responsibility FIFA would take if Son Jun-ho’s allegations were notified to soccer associations around the world, Director Choi explained that when he mentioned responsibility, he meant cases in which huge financial losses or other tangible losses occurred because of Son Jun-ho.
General Manager Choi said, “I was willing to take responsibility if Son Jun-ho had to continue to be paid or if there were other additional financial losses (to the club).”
The Suwon City Council’s Culture and Sports Committee adopted a report on the progress of the personnel hearing for candidates for a second term as Suwon FC’s general manager. Of the 9 registered members, 6 expressed an opinion that they were eligible and 1 person expressed an opinion that they were not eligible.
Bae Ji-hwan, a member of the People Power Party’s Suwon City Council, said, “Because the contract was terminated, there is no financial damage to Suwon City, and therefore, Director Choi’s attitude that an apology is sufficient to take responsibility for himself is an irresponsible action that falls short of the moral standards of Suwon citizens and soccer fans. He criticized the case and said, “It is no different from the Suwon mayor and Suwon city council members irresponsibly granting indulgence.”
soruha@yna.co.kr
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