South Korean prosecutors charge 31 over match-fixing
South Korean prosecutors on Wednesday said they had charged 31 people, including pro-baseball players, volleyball players and gamblers, over their alleged role in match-fixing.
South Korean prosecutors on Wednesday said they had charged 31 people, including pro-baseball players, volleyball players and gamblers, over their alleged role in match-fixing.
The prosecutors office in the southern city of Daegu said they had charged two professional baseball players, 16 pro-volleyball players, four volleyball players from the military team, and nine gamblers and brokers.
The players are accused of receiving up to five million won ($4,400) from brokers for every match they fixed, prosecutors said, with 23 volleyball and baseball games affected in 2010 and 2011.
LG Twins pitcher Kim Seong-Hyun allegedly took seven million won in return for fixing three matches while his teammate Park Hyun-Joon allegedly received five million won.
"The latest investigation verified for the first time the wild rumours over match-fixing in the pro-volleyball and baseball leagues," prosecutor Park Eun-Seok told Yonhap news agency.
"It is seen as a major warning to professional players' serious moral laxity."
Prosecutors have been investigating corruption in sports since the football league was rocked by a match-fixing scandal last year. A motorboat racing driver was also arrested last month on charges of fixing results.
Culture and Sports minister Choe Kwang-Shik has vowed to show no mercy towards match-fixing.
Under a law revised last year, players and officials accused of match-fixing face a maximum jail term of five years or a fine of up to 50 million won.
South Korea has tough laws restricting gambling and the government has strengthened a crackdown on illegal Internet betting sites.