Son Jun-ho, a South Korean national soccer team midfielder/News 1

South Korean soccer player Son Jun-ho (32) who was detained in China, has been released after 319 days. On May 25, an official at the South Korean Embassy in China stated that he was released and returned home later that day. Son got pulled over by Chinese police in Shanghai on May 12, 2023, and was under investigation.

The former midfielder for Shandong Taishan F.C., a soccer club in the Chinese Super League (CSL) was taken to the police in May last year at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport as he tried to return home. Then, he was detained by the Chaoyang Public Security Bureau public in China’s northeast Liaoning province “on suspicion of taking bribes as a person who is not a functionary of a state organ.” At the time, Chinese media outlets reported that the bribery allegations concerned suspected match-fixing involving Shandong Taishan’s former coach, Hao Wei. The Korea Football Association (KFA) set out to find the truth of the incident, sending a letter to the Chinese Football Association and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and dispatching officials to China. The situation, however, worsened. On June 17 of last year, Chinese police began an arrest investigation of the player as his temporary criminal detention period expired, meaning that the police initiated official legal proceedings against Son. This raised concerns that the investigation would last more than a year. The postponed release has also exacerbated tensions that have the potential to escalate into a diplomatic issue between China and South Korea.

However, the judicial proceedings against Chinese soccer tycoons were finalized this year and this shed light on Son’s case. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea has been communicating with the Chinese authorities through various channels, requesting their cooperation in ensuring a fast and fair process for him. It is also said that the Ministry conducted 20 consular visits. Details of how Son’s trial proceeded after the switch to an investigation under formal arrest haven’t been revealed yet. The KFA said, “We heard about his release through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and don’t know the exact situation because we haven’t been able to contact the player yet,” adding, “We don’t even know if he was acquitted or if the investigation is ongoing.

Son Jun-ho made his professional soccer debut in the K League, South Korea’s professional football league in 2014 where he played for six years. He was named the league’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the 2020 season. In 2021, he moved to Shandong Taishan for an annual salary of 4.3 billion won (about $3.21 million). At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, he joined the Korean national soccer team as a central midfielder.