This blog post examines the causes of the widespread match-fixing problem in Korean professional sports and explores institutional and educational improvement measures to prevent it.
Starting with professional soccer match-fixing, then professional volleyball, and now even professional baseball, match-fixing has been rampant in Korea across most major sports beloved by the public. In Korea’s K League, a staggering 54 players were permanently banned for match-fixing involvement. Most of these individuals had dedicated their entire lives to soccer since childhood, possessing few other skills or interests. Yet this measure was likely an unavoidable choice to preserve the integrity of the soccer community. Nevertheless, the public’s trust in sports as a whole has been shaken by match-fixing, fueling growing concerns about whether similar problems might arise in other sports.
In professional baseball, match-fixing was often associated with minute details like whether the first batter reached base on a walk, rather than manipulating the overall outcome. This occurred in ways difficult for ordinary fans to detect, highlighting the need for more meticulous monitoring and preventive measures. In the sports arena, where fair competition is paramount, match-fixing poses a significant threat to the entire ethical foundation of sports. Notably, match-fixing has also surfaced in the rapidly growing field of e-sports, suggesting the potential for such corruption across all sports disciplines.
The most apparent surface-level cause of match-fixing is likely financial. To prevent players from succumbing to such temptations, realistic salary structures must be improved. While many matches are monitored in real-time, detecting match-fixing in every single game is practically impossible. Therefore, measures are needed to make minimum salaries realistic so athletes don’t feel tempted, and to strengthen athlete pension systems as part of anti-match-fixing measures, providing an economic safety net after retirement. This could act as a fundamental deterrent against temptation rather than relying solely on short-term punishments.
The next crucial measure is changing the approach to education. One reason match-fixing is so prevalent today, beyond financial motives, is a lack of ethical judgment. This cannot simply be blamed on individual players. The failure to instill ethical values in athletes from a young age has resulted in a lack of awareness regarding the seriousness of match-fixing or violence issues. In the past, professional baseball saw instances where players openly used performance-enhancing drugs or collectively ordered and used them, with some players exhibiting an attitude of indifference towards these practices. The case of drug use revealed by professional baseball player Ma Hae-young in his 2009 autobiography clearly illustrates this reality. Superficially, institutional measures like fines or disciplinary actions alone cannot eradicate these problems; ultimately, reforming educational methods to enhance players’ ethical awareness is necessary.
Educational reform can be approached from two directions. First, character education must be strengthened for students starting sports, and the educators teaching them must also learn the ethical values of the sports world. For example, recalling how most high school athletic club students skip classes to focus solely on sports highlights the severity of this issue. They are immersed in sports rather than academics, receiving almost no basic education or character training outside of athletic activities. The situation is not significantly different in college. For instance, a friend of mine currently studying physical education at S University mentioned that even department professors state, “It’s hard to imagine sports without violence.” The sports world is generally bound by traditional practices. These networks, centered around school ties and personal connections, perpetuate the practice of turning a blind eye to others’ wrongdoings and foster an atmosphere where misconduct is treated as a private matter.
In such an environment, no amount of ethics education for students can yield meaningful results. Therefore, educational programs that instill the meaning of athletic activities and ethical awareness must be introduced for sports leaders as well. A culture must be fostered where both athletes and coaches deeply recognize the harm caused by misconduct. For instance, mandating sportsmanship education from elementary school levels and implementing policies to reduce violence and misconduct in schools can gradually transform the sports culture. Introducing mentoring programs to help students starting sports resist the temptation of misconduct despite real-world difficulties would also be a good solution.
Finally, a nationwide overhaul of educational curricula is needed to improve public awareness. The recent match-fixing scandal in professional baseball continues to draw large crowds, with games selling out even during exhibition seasons. This demonstrates our society’s lack of vigilance against foul play like match-fixing. Particularly, as such misconduct overlaps with common cases of corruption involving chaebols and politicians, the public has come to overlook match-fixing as a ‘minor offense’. However, this perception threatens sports ethics and undermines the value of fairness. To genuinely guard against match-fixing, education about misconduct must be strengthened from a young age, and ethical awareness must be elevated across society. This will not only address issues within the sports world but also enhance the moral foundation of society as a whole.
Ultimately, this match-fixing scandal necessitates not only institutional improvements but also fundamental changes to the educational system. While such changes will take time, they will significantly contribute to establishing a sound ethical consciousness within Korea’s sports community and society at large in the long term. Athletes implicated in match-fixing will be permanently expelled from the sports world. However, if they failed to develop the awareness that such misconduct is illegal during their formative years, they too can be seen as victims of the system. This incident must serve as a catalyst for the sports world to strengthen its ethical foundation and make concerted efforts to teach athletes proper character.
