South Korea national footballer detained over suspected bribery

BEIJING - A South Korean citizen, whom South Korea's government identified as football player Son Jun-ho, is suspected of accepting bribes and has been detained by the public security department of Liaoning province, China's foreign ministry said on Tuesday (May 16).

Son, detained on Friday, is being held in police custody in north-east China in connection with a bribery case, a South Korean diplomatic source said earlier on Monday, raising tensions between the two nations competing on various economic fronts.

Reuters was unable to reach Son for comment.

Son plays for the South Korean national team and Chinese Super League club Shandong Taishan, based in the north-eastern province of Shandong.

"Recently, an ROK national suspected of taking bribes has been detained by the public security authorities of Liaoning province," ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a news briefing.

"China is a country governed by the rule of law and handles the relevant cases in accordance with the law to protect all the legitimate rights and interests of the parties involved."

South Korea's foreign ministry said its mission in China was providing necessary consular support to Son, but declined to comment further, citing privacy.

A Korea Football Association official said it had reached out to Shandong Taishan, seeking an explanation, but has not heard back.

Son played in three of the national team's four games during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where South Korea reached the elimination round of the tournament for the first time in 12 years.

His club has not commented publicly on Son's situation, but uploaded a poster wishing him happy birthday on Friday, the day of his detention.

While the arrest at this point appears solely tied to sports, it comes as expatriates in the world's second-biggest economy are becoming worried about a potential fresh wave of probes targeting foreign companies.

US consultancy Bain & Company confirmed in April that Chinese authorities questioned staff at its Shanghai office, without revealing details on the nature of the investigation. 

That followed a series of actions taken against other foreign companies, including a raid in March of New York-based due diligence firm Mintz Group's Beijing operations and the detention of an employee of Japanese drugmaker Astellas Pharma Inc. just days later. 

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