Drone Soccer Association Officials Referred to Prosecution Over Slush Fund Allegations

Former executives and others involved with the Korean Drone Soccer Association have been handed over to the prosecution on suspicion of creating slush funds amounting to tens of millions of won. The Jeonbuk Provincial Police Agency investigated three individuals on charges of embezzlement and transferred them to the prosecution without detention on June 17, 2024. The transferred individuals are accused of receiving funds ranging from 2 million to 15 million won multiple times from 2021 through approximately three years by inflating drone soccer event costs. Police raided the Korean Drone Soccer Association and the Camtic Convergence Technology Institute on August 3, 2023, to investigate suspicions of slush fund creation.

Allegations emerged that the Korean Drone Soccer Association created and concealed approximately 30 million won in slush funds. During the investigation, it was alleged that the office director concealed about 31 million won in project expenses in personal accounts from June 2022 to December 2024. Allegations also surfaced that the slush funds were used for overseas golf trips and sexual entertainment, with testimony from an affiliate company representative.

From 2020 to 2023, Jeonju City provided a total of 1.471 billion won to the association for 'Global Drone Soccer Development Projects' and tournament expenses. While Jeonju City provided subsidies, its management and supervision were found to be lax, and the promotion of exporting 50,000 drone soccer balls was alleged to be exaggerated. The Jeonbuk Provincial Party of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party criticized the budget allocated to the Drone Soccer World Cup and urged an investigation into the use of funds and alleged collusion. Jeonju City has invested 20 billion won in the construction of a new stadium for drone soccer.