South Korean Football Star Admits to Role in Fixing Matches

Posted June 29th, 2011 at 1:40 am (UTC-5)
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A top South Korean international football player has admitted to being involved in a growing match-fixing scandal.

Officials with the country's professional K-League say Choi Sung-kuk came forward Tuesday and confessed to throwing games. K-League officials say they have turned the case over to prosecutors.

Choi, a member of the Suwon Samsung Bluewings team, is the highest-profile player to be implicated in the scandal. He has played in 26 international matches for the national team.

A total of 11 K-League players have been accused of taking money from gamblers in return for throwing matches.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency says it has learned from a K-League official that Choi was dragged into the match-fixing scheme by another player, Kim Dong-hyun. Choi met with Kim and other players a year ago to discuss the plot. Yonhap says Choi turned down an alleged offer of a cash payment from Kim for taking part in the scheme.