Why is it said that Korean football has no bottom line after the 2002 World Cup?

Another major scandal broke out in Korean football. After the 2002 World Cup, they no longer had a bottom line.

After walking on thin ice in the top 12 of the Asian World Cup qualifiers and barely qualifying as second in the group, before Korean football had time to celebrate, a huge scandal broke out. As many as 11 former members of the Korean Football Association were suspected of embezzling public funds. Those under investigation include former Korean Football Association Chairman Cho Chung-yeon, former Vice-President Lee Huize and others.

So far, the facts of misappropriation of public funds that have been disclosed include using public funds from the national team to travel with his wife, using public funds from the Football Association to play golf, go to karaoke and bars, and one association employee actually concealed the fact of divorce. He receives a monthly living allowance of 150,000 yuan for his wife. So far, 12 people related to the association have been arrested, including 6 current employees.

Of course, this scandal will not affect the Korean team's entry into the World Cup, but it will disgrace Korean football. Coincidentally, just in September last year, South Korea's K-League team Jeonbuk Hyundai was deducted 9 league points and fined up to 100 million won for bribing referees.

The Jeonbuk Hyundai scout involved was sentenced to 6 months in prison, suspended for 2 years. One of the bribe-taking referees was sentenced to 3 months in prison, suspended for two years, and fined US$3,000; the other bribe-taking referee was sentenced to 2 months in prison, suspended for two years, and fined 2 million won (approximately 1.2 million yuan).

In fact, South Korea, as one of the top football powers in Asia, has been a learning target for Chinese football for a long time. After such a big scandal, many people may be stunned. It is reported that Korean football is a mixed bag, and scandals are common. Since the 2002 World Cup, when they relied on referees to reach the semi-finals, they have never looked at the bottom line.