Son held an emergency press conference at the Suwon Sports Center on Wednesday afternoon and talked about his alleged involvement in match fixing from China. "I will tell you the truth. I feel relieved to have a chance to reveal such a bitter truth," Son said. He confessed how he was investigated at a detention center since his arrest, and what China threatened to do with his family and athletic career.
Earlier, the Chinese Football Association and the Ministry of Public Security announced special corrective measures for match fixing and illegal gambling cases in their respective professional soccer teams on the previous day. Through long-term investigations, the government explained disciplinary measures against a total of 61 players. Among them, Son Joon-ho, who played for Shandong Taishan, said he took illegal transactions, manipulated soccer matches, and made illegal profits for unfair profits.
The Chinese Football Association and the Ministry of Public Security declared, "Son Joon-ho is included in the permanent expulsion discipline in China to 43 people for serious violations of sportsmanship and loss."
Those who found Son guilty said, "It had a very negative impact on society. All soccer-related activities will be banned for life. I hope that all employees will use this incident as a mirror to reject the temptation of unfair profits," adding, "I hope that each association and soccer team will raise alarm bells by protecting fair competition in the stadium. I hope that we will further strengthen warning education and management guidance to promote a good atmosphere in the soccer community."
The disciplinary action is only applied within Chinese soccer. However, as the Chinese Football Association raised the issue to FIFA, Son is now in a position to monitor the situation. If FIFA increases the disciplinary action, Son will not be able to play in Korea or anywhere in the world.
"When I was arrested by Chinese police, I was really embarrassed and shocked. I couldn't express it in words because I was arrested in front of my family," Son said. "The reason for the arrest was even more embarrassing. The police said they would arrest me for bribery. I didn't know what he meant at the time, and I kept insisting on my innocence."
After his arrest, Son Joon-ho was imprisoned in a detention center in Choyang City. The investigation continued afterwards, and Son Joon-ho claimed that Chinese police threatened and conciliated with family photos in the process. He explained that as this time continued for more than 10 months, he was forced to be conciliatory on the Chinese side.
Son Joon-ho said, "The situation was so scary at the time, and it was the first time in my life that I was worried about my family. So I had no choice but to admit that I could quickly return to my family's arms even though I didn't know what it was."
However, Son Joon-ho, who thought the confession was a wrong act in a situation where it was related to match manipulation, pleaded not guilty through a Chinese lawyer. As the reversal of the statement continued for a long time, the Chinese side recalled that Son Joon-ho suggested that he could be released immediately if he changed the charges for receiving bribes and admitted it.