Seo Jun-won was accused of sex crimes related to minors and turned the Korean baseball world upside down.
It was a crime charge that greatly hurt both the KBO League and Lotte.
It was an act that caused great losses to both the league and the team he belonged to beyond a simple individual deviation.
Korean baseball suffered a major failure at the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC).
They aimed at at least advancing to the semifinals, but were eliminated in the first round, greatly disappointing the fans.스포츠토토
Everyone was worried about the box office success of the 2023 season. I couldn’t help but worry that the baseball fever in Korea could cool down due to the disappointment that baseball gave.
However, the fans were more generous than expected. When the demonstration game was held, many spectators came to the baseball field to warm up.
Last weekend, despite inviting paying spectators, it hit the jackpot with well over 20,000 people in five stadiums across the country.
It was a special opportunity given to Korean professional baseball by fans.
Regardless of the sluggishness in international competitions, he filled the field and revived the spirit of the players. It can be said that it was the moment when new hope was born in Korean professional baseball.
In the midst of this, a major disaster occurred. The individual deviations of the players, who should be most careful, caused problems this time as well.
It was an incident that deeply hurt the fans who gave Korean professional baseball another chance.
The culprit was Seo Jun-won, a promising Lotte pitcher.
He was a lumberjack who could throw a fast ball approaching 150 km even though he was a pitcher with a sidearm throw. We raised a lot of expectations every year, but we didn’t always meet those expectations. It was a time when the club was very upset because the growth rate was too slow.
Expectations for this season were very high. I lost weight and was evaluated as mentally mature.
It is Seo Jun-won who has shown many signs of change in his appearance to the extent that he hastened to get married in order to mature mentally and concentrate on baseball.
However, it was a change that was hidden behind a bigger lie. He committed a transgression that he should not have done and received a strong punishment of expulsion.
The Lotte Giants decided to release pitcher Seo Jun-won.
Lotte held a disciplinary committee on the 23rd as soon as it was confirmed that Seo Jun-won had been investigated by the police for criminal acts against minors and was now transferred to the prosecution.
Regardless of whether the prosecution is indicted or not, the decision was made to withdraw from the highest level of discipline. An official from Lotte said, “We acknowledge the player’s negligence in management and will strictly implement gender awareness education in the future to strictly prevent recurrence.”
Lotte has not been able to develop toxic 1st designated players. Busan is a club with a good talent pool, but the growth rate of the players nominated for the first round is noticeably slow.
Although there are success stories such as Kim Won-joong and Choi Jun-yong, the team has not been able to develop starting pitchers who can support the team. Lotte’s native ace is Park Se-woong. A player acquired through trade. Lotte is a team that has grown from the inside without external blood transfusion and has no proper starting lineup.
It was the same with Seo Jun-won.
He was the first designated player for the 2019 season, but his growth was stagnant. He went back and forth between the starter and the bullpen to find custom clothes, but he always failed to live up to expectations.
It seemed to show potential by winning 7 wins in the 2020 season, but after that, it crashed again with only 1 win and 3 wins.
The following is an apology from the Lotte Giants CEO.
The Lotte Giants sincerely apologize for the recent unfortunate incident caused by a member of the club.
It is absolutely unacceptable for a professional baseball player who is supported by many fans to commit a crime against minors.
In particular, this disgraceful act, targeting teenagers who love professional baseball and dream of watching players, hurt the hearts of many people.
The club apologizes once again for acknowledging the player’s neglect of management and causing social controversy.
The club promises to prevent strict recurrence through periodic prevention of sexual violence and conduct of gender awareness education in the future.
Once again, I would like to express my apologies to everyone who loves the Lotte Giants.