Daily Times

A South Korean soccer club has apologized after being accused of putting sex dolls in empty seats during a match.

FC Seoul expressed “sincere remorse” over the controversy, but insisted in a statement that it used mannequins — not sex dolls — to mimic a home crowd during Sunday’s 1-0 win over Gwangju FC at the Seoul World Cup Stadium.

On Sunday, the club played at home against Gwangju in South Korea’s top football championship, which was due to start on February 29 but was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Fans were barred from the ground as part of measures to prevent the spread of infection, but those watching online noticed something off-color about the mannequins drafted in to fill the stands.

Some of the figures were holding signs for a company that makes sex dolls, and fans pointed out that they looked like adult dolls rather than mannequins.

The club’s statement didn’t directly address criticism of why it chose to work with Dalkom, which does manufacture sex dolls, according to the company’s website, or why nearly all the mannequins at the stadium were female in design.

“Regarding the cheer mannequins that were installed during the game on the 17th, we sincerely apologize for causing deep concern to the fans,” the statement said.

FC Seoul explained that although the dolls were made to look like real people, rather than conventional mannequins, it had checked they were “not at all related to adult products” before agreeing to install them, and had been told they would be mannequins of the kind commonly used to model clothes.