Athlete sex offense → Money behind the head coach → Seizure and search the day before the opening… KBO in crisis, the start of ‘the worst ever’
The opening of the 2023 KBO League, which marks the beginning of spring, is one day away. However, fans’ expectations turned into disappointment once again. Another bad news has occurred and the KBO League is about to get off to a bad start.
On the 31st, the 3rd Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office (chief prosecutor Soo-min Kim) sent prosecutors and investigators to the KBO Secretariat and its subsidiary KBOP in Gangnam-gu, Seoul to carry out a search and seizure. KBOP is a company that is in charge of league sponsorship selection management, league official sponsorship management, integrated merchandising business entrusted by each club, and league broadcasting rights business.
Prosecutors found out the circumstances in which a KBOP executive took advantage of his position in negotiating broadcasting rights and received money and valuables from the company. The executive has been accused of embezzlement and lobbying by a sports marketing company since last year.
Recently, unsavory things are constantly happening in the baseball world.
Former Lotte Giants pitcher Seo Jun-won was indicted for 메이저놀이터violating the Child and Adolescent Sexual Protection Act. It became known that Seo Jun-won was investigated by the police for illegal activities targeting minors, and the Lotte club immediately decided to withdraw, and the KBO suspended his participation.
Even before the shock of Seo Jun-won’s sex crimes subsided, former KIA Tigers general manager Jang Jeong-seok was caught up in a scandal over demands for money.
In the process of negotiating a multi-year contract with Park Dong-won last year, he requested so-called ‘back money’. Former general manager Jang Jeong-seok expressed his resignation in writing, and KIA finally dismissed him at the disciplinary committee after the fact.
Despite the disastrous result of being eliminated in the first round of the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) finals, fans waited only for baseball.
The opening game of the KBO League 2023 season will be held simultaneously at five stadiums on April 1. As of 11:00 am on the 31st, all online reservations for 5 stadiums, except for on-site sales, were sold out. Despite the many bad news that raised eyebrows, there was nothing wrong with the box office front of the KBO League.
Fans who supported baseball like that faced various incidents and accidents right before the opening. Allegations of sex crimes by a player who was once called a top-notch prospect, corruption by a former baseball player, and corruption by a KBO executive. The sense of betrayal felt by the fans is indescribable, and they are constantly hurt.