SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The South Korean government has threatened to shut down its professional soccer league if more K-League teams are involved in the match-fixing scandal.
The Sports Ministry said Friday that Vice Minister Park Sun-kyoo issued the warning in a meeting with soccer officials the previous day.
The ministry cited Park as saying it may eliminate a soccer club from the K-League if its players are found to have received kickbacks in return for attempting to rig the results of games. Park says the entire K-League would be closed down if its determined that several teams are linked to the match-fixing scandal.
Prosecutors last month indicted 14 people, including 10 K-League players, in the ongoing scandal.
A former K-League player, who allegedly worked as a broker, was found dead in an apparent suicide in May.
