Suwon FC defer drunk driving punishment until K League ruling

Suwon FC's Lars Veldwijk in action during a K League game against FC Seoul at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Mapo District, western Seoul on July 12. [YONHAP]

Suwon FC will not punish striker Lars Veldwijk, who was arrested for drunk driving on Monday, until after the K League disciplinary committee has met and determined its own ruling, the club announced Tuesday.

Veldwijk was arrested on Monday after drunk driving near Sinsa Station in southern Seoul at around 4 a.m.

He did not cause any damage to property or people in the area, but a sobriety test showed that his blood alcohol content was over 0.08 — high enough for police to revoke his license.

Suwon FC held a management committee meeting Monday and started its own disciplinary process against the 31-year-old striker, excluding him from training and fixtures.

The club, however, decided not to hand down any punishment until the K League process is completed.

“As there are opinions saying that unconditionally terminating a contract does not help prevent the incident from recurring, we will hold a management committee meeting again after the K League disciplinary committee’s decision on Thursday,” the club said in a statement on Tuesday.

“We made the decision under the judgement that all professional footballers in the K League are public figures that hold a great responsibility and drunk driving is unacceptable under any circumstances.

“We apologize once again to our fans and all football officials for causing worries due to this incident.”

The club may seek to keep Veldwijk under contract but not allow him to play, in order to prevent him from immediately joining another league when his contract is terminated.

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors terminated a contract with Takahiro Kunimoto last year after he was caught drunk driving, but he immediately signed with Portuguese team Casa Pia AC and was able to pursue his career without any obstacles.

Veldwijk’s absence, however, will cause trouble for Suwon FC for the remainder of the 2023 season, as he has made the second most goal contributions in the K League, at 14, despite the club sitting in 10th place. The K League transfer window closed last week, making it impossible for Suwon to attempt to replace Veldwijk this season.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]