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Footballer Hwang Ui-jo hit with 'quasi-permanent expulsion' in Korea for illegal filming

Published: 22 Sep. 2025, 19:45 Updated: 23 Sep. 2025, 18:19

Footballer Hwang Ui-jo appears at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, Sept. 4. [YONHAP]

Former national team striker Hwang Ui-jo, who received a suspended prison sentence for illegally filming a sexual encounter, has been put under a state of "quasi-permanent expulsion" by the Korea Football Association (KFA) and thus cannot engage in any football-related activities in Korea, the KFA said Monday.

“Hwang Ui-jo is in effect under a ‘quasi-permanent expulsion’ and cannot take part in any activities in Korea as a player, coach or referee,” the KFA said in a statement on the case of the footballer, who is currently plying his trade at Turkish club Alanyaspor.

The association pushed back against criticism that it had been passive in handling the case, pointing to relevant rules.

According to KFA regulations for national team operations and the Korea Sports & Olympic Committee’s regulations on national team selection and operations, anyone convicted of a sexual offense and sentenced to imprisonment or a heavier punishment cannot be selected for the national team until 20 years after the end of a suspended sentence.

The same restriction applies under registration rules, meaning such individuals cannot be registered as players, coaches, referees or team officials. “If Hwang were to attempt to register as a player or coach for a KFA-affiliated team, he would be ineligible under the rules,” the association stressed.

Hwang’s overseas career, however, is not directly subject to KFA sanctions.

“The KFA and KSOC regulations apply only to those registered in their systems,” the association said. “Since Hwang is currently contracted to Alanyaspor in the Turkish Süper Lig and is not registered with the KFA, we cannot impose disciplinary action.”

The association added that if Hwang ever attempted to register with a domestic team, his ineligibility would already be recorded in the system to prevent approval.

Earlier this month, the Seoul Central District Court’s appellate division upheld a lower court ruling, sentencing Hwang to one year in prison suspended for two years on Sept. 4 for violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes. He was indicted on charges of filming sexual encounters without consent multiple times between June and September 2022.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY BAE JAE-SUNG [[email protected]]