SEOUL, South Korea — The recent global lifetime ban of 41 South Korean players for match-fixing does not do the soccer scene in the East Asian country any favors. It perpetuates the perception that the practice is ongoing when it all stems from the one, admittedly serious, outbreak in 2011 that is still moving slowly through the system at home and abroad, both at a soccer and legal level.

In the Land of the Morning Calm, the shock that about 60 players and coaches, both past and present, had been indicted on charges of rigging results — usually those involving low-key cup games when young, fringe and poorly paid players got a chance to start — was not so much that it happened, but how widespread it was and how little money it had taken to persuade professional players to perform the ultimate sporting sin. In some cases, Chinese and South Korean Internet gangs were able to get away with paying as little as $3,000.

Apart from the three, perhaps four people who committed suicide because of their roles in the scandal — one former K League coach who was found guilty of blackmailing the parents of a player he knew had been taking money to fix matches killed himself — the cases of Kim Dong-hyun and Choi Sung-kuk made the biggest headlines.

These are depressing cautionary tales. Choi, a talented wing with the nickname Little Maradona, had been on the fringes of the national team for a while but had never managed a regular spot. Twice, when asked by reporters about rumors of his involvement, he denied it only to later change his story and turn himself in.

In 2012, barred from the game in South Korea, he was set for a transfer to a club in Macedonia before FIFA stepped in to put a stop to his Balkan bolt. Instead, he was soon to be found working as a hospital receptionist just south of Seoul.

Kim is worse off. The striker made a handful of appearances for his country but had not been near the famous red shirt of the national team for a number of years. He was one of the main players in the scandal, however, acting as a go-between for the criminal gangs and the players, attracting new recruits.

Barred from the game and reportedly in debt, in 2012 Kim was arrested for kidnapping. He, and a former pro baseball player fallen on hard times, took a Mercedes from its female driver at knifepoint in Gangnam. She managed to escape and called the police. Kim’s partner was arrested a few hours later and when Kim was seen hanging around the police station to try and find out what had happened to his accomplice, he too was arrested.

There are other, less high-profile stories. Soccer authorities have been helping those banned with getting back on their feet and finding a way back into society. More emphasis has been placed on educating young players about the perils of match-fixing to ensure that it does not happen again.

It is all taken place behind closed doors but the soccer-related changes have been public indeed. The scandal has changed the face of South Korean soccer. Fans were fairly forgiving but all knew that a second outbreak would seriously compromise Asia’s oldest professional league.

In 2011, it was decided that the K League would be reduced from 16 to 12 teams by the time 2014 kicked off with the smaller number of members subject to stricter operating criteria. Toward this end, and under pressure from the Asian confederation, relegation, first, and then promotion have been introduced.

Nothing too out of the ordinary there but more radically, the Scottish split system has been introduced. In 2012, the 16 teams were split after playing each other twice with the two groups of eight meeting twice more for a total of 44 games. It was a mixed success. While the split generated interest and excitement, compared to the previous playoff system, the end was something of a damp squib with F.C. Seoul clinching the title with four games to go. This at least meant that attention was switched to the nation’s first relegation battle but it was all a bit too late and a lot too little. It will take time for fans and the news media to adapt.

And in the first week of 2013, the K League’s 30th birthday, a new name and logo was announced. The top tier has been rebranded as K League Classic with the new-look second tier, made up of eight teams, as the K League. Hyphens (in both Korean and English versions) have been dropped. Reaction has been relatively positive but much more has to be done to combat the rise of baseball and the fall in attendances.More

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