South Korea’s professional basketball league, the Korean Basketball League (KBL), yesterday issued a statement apologising for an investigation into match-fixing which has been widely reported by local media outlets. The Yonhap News Agency, South Korea’s largest news agency based in the country’s capital, Seoul, reported that police were investigating an active professional coach over match-fixing allegations. The paper named the coach as Chun Chang-jin, the current head coach of Anyang KGC. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency reportedly believe that Chun borrowed ₩300 million (€249,000) from a moneylender to place illegal bets on Chun’s former team, Busan KT Sonicboom, betting that they would lose those matches.

According to reports the police said that the suspect had put down illegal bets on five games between February and March, and that Chun was placed under a travel ban earlier this month. The police are set to summon Chun for questioning next month. The police are thought to have detained two acquaintances of Chun allegedly involved in the illegal bets, which led them to Chun in the first place, and are trying to find two further suspects also thought to be involved. The two detained suspects deny any wrongdoing and also deny that Chun was involved in match-fixing. The polices have also reportedly questioned the moneylender used by Chun, who gave them Chun’s promissory note for the bet.

The KBL ‘deeply apologised’ to fans for the reported match-fixing incident and said that a police investigation was currently in progress, with which it was cooperating. The KBL said that they will be watching the progress of the investigation closely and that if the allegations are true, promise to act with strict sanctions against Chun.

Reuters reported that a law firm representing Chun said that he had loaned one of the men some money but was unaware he planned to use it for illegal gambling. The firm said Chun denies all the allegations against him and will fight to clear his name. The KBL reportedly held a news conference last night in which the KBL’s secretary general Lee Jae-min told reporters that they have only become aware of the situation through a report last night, and had not yet been in touch with Chun himself.