Korean players charged over match-fixing scandal

Ten football players were among 14 people charged for alleged involvement in a Korean match-fixing scandal, prosecutors said today.

Nine K-League players were charged for allegedly taking bribes to influence the outcome of games in April, a local prosecution office in the southeastern city of Changwon said in a statement.

Eight were from Daejeon Citizen and one was from Gwangju, according to prosecutors and the Korea Football Association. The prosecution statement did not identify the players.

Another player, from 2009 Asian champions Pohang Steelers, was charged for allegedly betting on one of his own team's games after learning the outcome would be rigged, the statement said.

Four non-players, including two gambling brokers, were also charged for allegedly handing bribes to players to have them fix games' results, it said.

South Korean media said the two brokers were charged last week while the rest were indicted Thursday.

A former K-League player, who allegedly worked as another broker, was found dead in an apparent suicide last week.

The highest-profile player implicated so far in the scandal is Kim Dong-hyun, who is currently contracted to the league's military club Sangju Sangmu and has made six appearances for the national team.

Kim was arrested last week for allegedly introducing other players to "fixers" who then bet large sums of money on illegal online gambling sites. The Defense Ministry said Thursday that military prosecutors were reviewing whether to indict him.