By Yi Whan-woo
The nation’s professional football league announced Monday it will enforce a relegation system from 2013 in efforts to prevent a repeat of the match fixing crisis that has recently rocked the league.
The 16-club K-League will be divided into two divisions based on the results of the 2012 season. A new league structure, widely used internationally, will see the lowest placed teams in the first division relegated to the second tier, while the top sides from the second division will be promoted. The number of teams that would move up or down has yet to be decided.
“The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) asks for the size of the top division to be 12,” Ahn Ki-heon, secretary general of the K-League, said at a press conference held at the league headquarters in central Seoul.
“We will consider this when deciding the number of teams for each division in discussions with the Korea Football Association (KFA).”
Ahn went on to say that the number of participating clubs in the second division will be set after discussions with South Korea’s semi-professional National League.
A match-fixing scandal has stunned the K-League since late May. To date, prosecutors and military prosecutors have indicted 46 players. The number has continued to increase even after the league issued a life-ban to 10 footballers, the toughest penalties dealt out in its 28-year-old history.
Under the new system, the K-League will relegate any clubs that have players found to be involved in match rigging. The league’s ruling body will also deduct any points earned from fixed games. Other punitive measures include depriving clubs the right to compete in the AFC Champions League, the annual tournament among the continent’s top clubs.
The local league and cup competitions will be reviewed with a new system introduced from next year.
The K-League also said it will make improvements concerning players’ welfare, introducing a pension plan and raising the minimum year salary.
“The minimum wage will be doubled from the current 12 million won ($11,350) to 24 million won starting next year,” the league said in its statement.
The draft system will also be improved, and will be applied beginning with next year’s picks for those who will make their league debut in 2013. Details are yet to be confirmed but the league will take measures to enhance the current system.
The K-League will proceed with its drive to uproot match fixing in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Korea Football Association (KFA); and Sports Toto, the lottery operator that runs sports betting, though which the footballers earned illegal gains along with several brokers.
In a further move to try and ensure fair play, the use of lie detectors, employed in the Singaporean league, will also be introduced in the near future.