The FIFA World Cup fever is at an all-time high right now here in the Korean peninsula after the South Korean National Football team, also known as the Taeguk Warriors, obliterated their Greek counterpart 2 goals to none during their opening match for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The match was held last Saturday (June 12) in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. With this recent victory, some are forecasting that South Korea might duplicate or even beat their best overall World Cup performance – a semifinal finish during the 2002 FIFA World Cup co-hosted by Korea and Japan.

But some football experts are claiming since 2002 that South Korea should have not reached the semifinals in the 2002 FIFA World Cup on grounds of cheating and dirty play. According to these detractors, the South Korean government, with the help of some big name Korean conglomerates, fixed the round of 16 match against Italy and the crucial quarterfinals match against Spain in favor of the South Korean team. The goal, according to them, was for South Korea to reach the finals but they met powerhouse Germany in the semis and eventually lost. They also lost to Turkey 3-2 in their third place match (South Koreans are claiming they got cheated during this match). These critics also posted videos online to prove their claim that South Korea cheated their way to reach the semis in 2002.

Watch the video below and judge for yourself. Did South Korea cheat at the 2002 FIFA World Cup?