2023-07-01 05:05:00
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Finally, the arrest investigation was switched, the biggest crisis in the player’s life… Agent Son Jun-ho named as ‘designer of match-fixing’
Son Heung-min, who was summoned to Klinsman Ho’s A match in June, showed a bright expression even in sports hernia surgery. There was a time when he was the only one with a firm expression. It was when a question came up regarding the situation of Son Jun-ho, a friend of the same age born in 1992. As of June 17, Son Jun-ho’s 37 days of criminal detention in China’s public security have expired. If there is no further investigation, he should be free, but the people’s procuratorate, equivalent to China’s prosecution, passed the approval of arrest, and Son Jun-ho was converted into an arrest investigation.
Son Heung-min, who has been with Son Jun-ho for a long time since the national team by age group, said, “Actually, my heart hurts so much. I don’t know exactly what state he is in.” He continued, “I am very close to Junho, and we kept in touch well until that happened. Even if I send a text now, there is no answer. It seems that I am more worried and think more.”
National team coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who had summoned Son Jun-ho in March, tried to find a solution in his own way. Breaking everyone’s expectations, Son Jun-ho was selected as a surprise on the national team convocation list. It was a dimension to empower the player, and the Korea Football Association also wanted to confirm Son Jun-ho’s situation through the Chinese Football Association and others using this as a pretext. However, the public security authorities did not blink, and rather switched to arrest investigation. “I pray for the player and his family,” Klinsman said. There is nothing we can do except hope that the situation will be resolved as soon as possible and that the outcome will come out. I want to join the convocation in September,” he said sadly.
Son Jun-ho, national soccer player, arrested by the police ⓒNews Chinese police officers are marching through Tiananmen Square near the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. ⓒAP Alliance
Accused of raising Son Jun-ho’s salary and paying bribes to the director
Son Jun-ho was arrested on June 18. The Chinese authorities did not confirm with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs until two days later. Son Jun-ho, who was arrested at the departure hall on May 12 while trying to return home with his family from Hongqiao Airport in Shanghai, has since been detained and investigated by the Liaoning Provincial Public Security Bureau on charges of bribery. Criminal detention means temporary arrest by the public security authorities, but now it has become a formal arrest investigation led by the People’s Procuratorate. An arrest investigation in China can range from a minimum of two months to a maximum of seven months.
Although an arrest investigation has been initiated, it is still difficult to grasp details such as specific details and progress. In China, it is once morest the law to inform a third party of the details of an investigation, excluding the parties involved and their lawyers. It is known that even the current player’s family has not heard any information through the lawyer appointed in China. Even our government is sparing its words. On June 20, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “In the situation of criminal detention, local mission officials conducted three interviews. It was confirmed that there was no human rights violation. We are planning an additional consular meeting in the near future.”
Born in 1992, Son Jun-ho is a member of the golden generation of Korean football along with his peers Son Heung-min, Lee Jae-seong, Kim Jin-soo, and Hwang Eui-jo. He helped win the gold medal at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, and later played as a top-notch midfielder in the K-League. In 2020, when he led Jeonbuk to win the K-League, he was named MVP. Since 2021, he has been active since moving to Shandong Taishan in the Chinese Super League, and even with the new team, he won 3 trophies in 2 years and became the team’s ace. He is also a key player who was selected for the Qatar World Cup team last year and played in three matches.
Going to China was a new turning point in Son Jun-ho’s soccer life. At the time of Shandong Taishan transfer, Son Jun-ho recorded a huge transfer fee of over 6 billion won. His own annual salary was also around 4 billion won, more than three times the amount he received in Korea. Recruiting Son Jun-ho was a godsend for Shandong. The league championship that he had longed for for 11 years came through Son Jun-ho’s outstanding performance.
Ironically, there is speculation that the great success of 2021 has led to the current misfortune. Son Jun-ho, who had the best season, received attention from Europe. English Premier League Southampton and Fulham showed interest in Son Jun-ho. About 13 billion won was mentioned as the transfer fee. Shandong had two years left on his contract with Son Jun-ho, but he signed an extension once more to take the lead in the team. At this time, the salary increased once more. The problem is that during this process, there was a deal between Son Jun-ho’s Chinese agent, Zhou Kai-xuan, and former coach Hao Wei. As the manager has a strong influence on the player’s annual salary, it is known that the big stem of the bribery charges that Son Jun-ho is currently receiving is that he raised Son Jun-ho’s salary during the contract renewal process and the agent paid a bribe to the manager in return.
Zhou Kaixuan was arrested before Son Junho. His resume is unique. Known more in Korea under the name of Gaeseon Ju, a Chinese character, he is known as a Chinese agent of ethnic Korean descent. He used his fluent Korean skills to lead many Korean coaches and players into China in the 2010s. He came to Korea from time to time and posted pictures or texts on Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, emphasizing his personal connections with influential Korean soccer players.
After the inauguration of President Xi Jinping, a lot of money was poured into the soccer world, to the extent that the expression “soccer rise” came out in China. A significant portion of the money was invested in recruiting leaders and players from Europe and South America, but some teams preferred Korean leaders and players with the strongest competitiveness in Asia. Mr. Joo was a person who might dominate the niche market. Mr. A, a soccer player who signed a contract with him in the past and tried to go to China, said, “He is a person with a unique status. He also had a deep friendship with Chinese footballers. He’s kind, but he doesn’t know what’s inside. At some point, he felt that he was a bit dangerous, so he canceled the contract,” he said.
According to local reports in China, Zhou Kaixuan is portrayed as the designer of certain matches that are being accused of match fixing. Suspicions of sharing the trophy were raised between Wuhan Sanzhen, who won the league last season, and Shandong, who won the FA Cup. In fact, Wuhan, who met Shandong in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup, helplessly lost the first and second games. Rumors circulated that Mr. Joo used players from both teams who had contracts with him as a medium. In fact, two players from Shandong have been under investigation for match-fixing since last March. Jin Jingdao is a Korean-Chinese who was close friends with Son Jun-ho, and Guo Tian-yu is a player who signed a contract with Mr. Zhu. It is because of this background that the rumor that Son Jun-ho was involved in match-fixing spread in the early days of his detention.
There are many pessimistic prospects that it will be difficult to prove innocence.
There are many pessimistic prospects that it will be difficult for Son Jun-ho to prove his innocence in a situation where the investigation has been switched to arrest. Currently, the public security authorities and the People’s Procuratorate are in charge of this matter, but in reality the Communist Party is leading it. It is known that Xi Jinping ordered an intense investigation to eradicate corruption and irregularities prevalent in the Chinese soccer world since last year in the wake of the serious sluggishness of the national soccer team. Already, national team coach Rittier is being investigated for corruption and is facing trial. Football giants such as former and current presidents and executives of the Football Association are in the same situation. Sensing this atmosphere, the Shandong club has not commented on former coach Hao Wei and three players including Son Jun-ho. They erased their traces on the club’s homepage and in the locker room, and went on to lose money.
Son Jun-ho is currently the only foreigner involved in the high-intensity investigation that has turned the Chinese soccer world upside down. At a time when diplomatic conflicts between South Korea and China are escalating, this arrest investigation might cause another wave. There is an atmosphere in China that even foreign players should be severely punished. If a prison sentence of at least two years is imposed, Son Jun-ho’s career as an athlete will be severely damaged.
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