South Korean international footballer Son Jun-hoaccused of “corruption” and detained for ten months in China, where he plays in a club, was released and returned to his country, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Monday.
Son, a 31-year-old midfielder who plays for the Chinese club Shandong Taishan (where he played alongside Marouane Fellaini), had been detained since May in northeast China. The Chinese authorities had assured, without further details, that he was suspected of having “accepted bribes from private actors“.
He is “recently arrived in South Korea at the end of his detention“, the South Korean ministry announced in a statement, adding that the government had provided it with “active legal assistance by being in close contact with (one’s) family“.
His release was also confirmed by the South Korean Football Association, which said he returned to his country on Monday.
He has twenty selections. He notably participated in three of South Korea’s four matches during the World Cup in Qatar at the end of 2022.
