KFA says Hwang Ui-jo will not play for national team until illegal sex video investigation ends

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KFA says Hwang Ui-jo will not play for national team until illegal sex video investigation ends

Published: 28 Nov. 2023, 18:06 Updated: 29 Nov. 2023, 14:31

LEE SOO-JUNG
lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr

PAIK JI-HWAN
paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr

Star footballer Hwang Ui-jo is accused of filming sex tapes without his partners' consent. [YONHAP]

The Korea Football Association (KFA) announced on Tuesday that star footballer Hwang Ui-jo will not play for the national team until the end of the investigation into allegations that he illegally filmed sex videos without his partners' consent.

“National athletes have a duty to behave with high moral standards and a sense of responsibility,” said Lee Yoon-nam, the head of the KFA's Ethics Committee. “In this sense, the KFA believes an athlete must manage his private life according to such standards.”

The KFA on Tuesday held a meeting to discuss Hwang’s case at 3:30 p.m. with Vice President Choi Young-il, National Team Committee head Michael Muller, Lee Yoon-nam, and Chung Hae-soung, the head of the game management committee.

On Monday, the National Police Agency said they were conducting digital forensics on four smartphones and a laptop computer owned by Hwang.

The authorities also said they could call Hwang in for questioning. The forward plays for English Championship side Norwich City.

The incident stems from an Instagram post in June shared by an unidentified user who claimed to be an ex-lover of Hwang.

The user even posted a video in which a naked man was with a woman. The poster claimed the man was Hwang.

She also accused Hwang of filming sexual encounters without consent and having sexual relationships with multiple women at the same time.

Hwang denied the allegations later that month and sued the poster for defamation and blackmail.

The police arrested that poster on Nov. 16 on charges of blackmail and leaking the footage. The leaker turned out to be Hwang’s sister-in-law.

The police analyzed the leaked footage and summoned Hwang for questioning on suspicion of filming the videos without consent.

Hwang appeared before the police on Nov. 18 but departed to China the following day and played in the Korean national team’s World Cup qualifier match against China on Nov. 21, which sparked an immediate backlash from Korean football fans.

Some fans blamed national football team manager Jurgen Klinsmann for putting Hwang into the match despite the allegations surrounding him.

Fans left angry comments on the KFA’s Instagram post on Nov. 22, such as, “Is it really OK for a criminal suspect to be playing a national team game?” or “Why put Hwang Ui-jo? Is [Jurgen Klinsmann] out of his mind?”

BY PAIK JI-HWAN, LEE SOO-JUNG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]