By Kim Rahn
The Daegu District Prosecutors’ Office said Tuesday that a match-fixing scandal has spread to include professional baseball and basketball.
The prosecution said they had secured testimony from an arrested gambling middleman that some baseball and basketball players were involved in rigging game results.
“A gambling middleman named Kim, arrested last year for fixing the results of football matches, said an associate identified as Kang, who was recently arrested for volleyball match fixing, rigged performance results in baseball and basketball games, too,” a prosecutor said.
Kim, who was acquainted with Kang, said that the latter had told him about a pitcher who took part in the scam, according to the prosecution.
“Kim said Kang rigged match results in not only volleyball but also other events by taking advantage of his close ties with celebrities in entertainment and sports. He also said the rigging scam happened in basketball and women’s volleyball,” the prosecutor said.
It is presumed that in volleyball, baseball or basketball, the broker may have aimed at influencing each player’s performance rather than fixing a whole game result as in football.
On illegal gambling sites, people bet on whether a pitcher gives up four balls in the first inning, or whether a basketball player hits three-point shots, according to the prosecution. Such four balls or shots don’t directly influence the result of the game, and it is difficult for other players and coaches to notice even if the player deliberately fails to hit a three-pointer.
Baseball and basketball officials were embarrassed at the suspicions. They are watching how the investigation progresses, as no one has been questioned or arrested yet.
An official of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said, “We told each team to figure out whether anyone was involved in the allegations. But it may be difficult to find out unless the involved players confess.”
Reacting to the ongoing scandal, the government said it will come up with measures to root out match fixing and other irregularities in sports.
“The recent scandal is a serious crime that threatens the spirit of sports. The government and the sports bodies will announce comprehensive measures to eradicate corruption next month, including a massive crackdown on illegal gambling sites,” said an official from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
In the investigation of volleyball players, two retired and one active player from KEPCO 45 and another one from the military team Sangmu Shinhyup have been arrested, with more players being looked into. The four received a lifetime ban from local volleyball.