Park Ji-sung, co-chair of the K-Football Innovation Committee [Newsis]
Park Ji-sung, co-chair of the K-Football Innovation Committee [Newsis]

Park Ji-sung, chair of the K-Football Innovation Committee, has weighed in on the Korea Football Association's scandal over alleged sexual entertainment provided to foreign referees years ago.

Speaking at a briefing after the committee's sixth meeting, held Tuesday at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art office building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, Park said the matter was "not an agenda item the innovation committee can address at all."

"There is nothing I can say here," he said, before adding: "It is clear that we are facing an unpleasant situation. It is not easy to predict what outcome awaits us."

"We are facing a shocking situation," Park said. "The time has come for everyone in football to think hard about how we can ultimately restore credibility and look toward the future."

The scandal centers on allegations that the Korea Football Association provided inappropriate entertainment to foreign referees who officiated national team friendly matches and World Cup and Olympic qualifying games held in South Korea between March 2011 and March 2012.

Investigation materials released by the office of lawmaker Jin Seon-mi from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism showed that association officials paid for visits to massage parlors in Seoul, Ulsan and Changwon using corporate credit cards, recording the expenses in settlement documents as meals, drinks or massage costs.

The payment records were approved up the chain of command — from the staff member in charge through a section chief and department director to the then-vice president — raising suspicions that the entertainment was organized at an institutional level rather than being the act of a rogue individual. South Korea went 5 wins and 2 draws in the seven matches officiated by the foreign referees in question.

The involvement of foreign referees drew international media attention, rapidly widening the fallout.

The practice was regarded as routine within the association at the time. The Japan Football Association launched its own internal investigation into Japanese referees who officiated those matches. Some foreign media outlets, citing International Olympic Committee regulations, raised the possibility that South Korea's bronze medal from the 2012 London Olympics could be stripped.

As the controversy grew, the Korea Football Association issued a public statement Saturday addressed to "football fans and those involved in the sport," saying it was "deeply sorry for causing disappointment and concern through the various issues surrounding the association since the 2026 North and Central America World Cup."

The association acknowledged that "a National Assembly hearing, an unprecedented search and seizure, and reports on past events that even many internal members were unaware of have followed one after another," and offered "a sincere apology for the distress caused by the various matters related to the association."

However, the association said "such inappropriate conduct and corporate card misuse are not taking place within the association at all at present." It also expressed hope that "the hard-won achievements and efforts of the players who have represented Korean football under the national crest will not be misunderstood or diminished by this incident."


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