A South Korean footballer suspected of involvement in a widening match-fixing scandal was found dead Monday in an apparent suicide, police said. A hotel employee in southern Seoul found Jeong Jong-Kwan, a 29-year-old midfielder for third-division professional league team Seoul United, hanging in his room, police said.
The former Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors player had been missing since police said last week he was wanted for allegedly conveying money from match-fixing brokers to K-league players. Police released what they said was a note left by the footballer, saying: "I'm ashamed to have been involved in match-fixing. All the players under investigation are my friends... I did it and it's all my responsibility."
Police last week arrested two suspected fixers on charges of bribing a goalkeeper and a midfielder to rig matches, along with two players for the Daejeon Citizen team. On Sunday they said they had arrested another three of the team's players.