Prosecutors have formally arrested a board member of South Korea's national swimming organization on charges of receiving bribes in exchange for peddling influence over selecting the country's national team members, officials said Tuesday.
The Seoul Central District Court issued a warrant on Monday to arrest the suspect, identified only by his surname Chung, noting there are considerable reasons to believe he committed the crimes and could possibly destroy evidence.
Chung is accused of receiving some hundreds of millions of won from swimming coaches for years in exchange for favors in the process of selecting national athletes.
Most of the kickbacks given to Chung are suspected to have come from a private swimming club run by another board member of the Korea Swimming Federation (KSF), according to prosecutors.
The 56-year-old unlawfully helped athletes who practiced at the club to join the national team, prosecutors said.
The arrest came a few days after prosecutors raided the headquarters of the organization in eastern Seoul and some 20 other related organizations over suspicions they misappropriated government funds.
Earlier in the month, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that it would stop providing subsidies to the national swimming body due to the alleged corruption.
The culture ministry said the federation is suspected of forging documents and siphoning off training expenses meant to go to athletes.
Prosecutors said they will interrogate Chung over the allegations and investigate any further involvement of KSF board members in the corruption. (Yonhap)