Professional baseball, the "national sport," was once again caught in a drinking scandal due to a series of moral hazards by its members. The baseball players are not concerned about the fans, who have reached the 8 million spectator mark for the fourth time in history.

The self-proclaimed No. 1 professional sports league in South Korea, the KBO, had a cumulative attendance of 8.10 million in the 2023 season. That's an average of 11,250 fans per game, a significant 35% increase from last year. It was the fourth time in history that the league surpassed 8 million fans, following the 2016, 2017, and 2018 seasons.

The 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League was expected to be a low-key affair before the start of the season due to the national team's first-round exit from the World Baseball Classic (WBC). During the season, it was revealed that Kim Kwang-hyun (SSG), Chung Chul-won (Doosan), and Lee Yong-chan (NC) had been drinking at an entertainment bar in Tokyo, Japan, during the WBC.

However, popular teams such as the LG Twins and Lotte Giants drew fans back to the ballpark, and the season ended with an epic standings battle, surpassing 8 million fans for the first time in five seasons. It was a year in which professional baseball reclaimed its status as the nation's favorite sport, overcoming a number of adverse factors, including player behavior, international competition, and COVID-19.

Unfortunately, after a successful season, baseball fans had to deal with drunk driving. The team even tried to cover it up and cover the sky with their hands. Instead of thanking the fans for their support throughout the year, the team created a stir and overshadowed what was a great achievement of 8.1 million fans.

It started with Bae Young-bin, a 2000-born infielder who struggled his way into the professional ranks as a 2023 Lotte developmental player. Bae had his license revoked for a DUI in late October, but he didn't tell the team. It wasn't until mid-November that Lotte realized that Bae had gotten behind the wheel while intoxicated, and they suspended him. Separately, the KBO suspended him for one year and ordered him to perform 80 hours of community service as a punishment for the failure to report.

Just three weeks later, another case similar to Bae's disappointed baseball fans. Doosan catching prospect Park Yoo-yeon, 25, was found to have concealed from the club that she had been caught drunk driving three months earlier.

According to our exclusive report, Park was caught driving drunk in late September, right in the middle of the 2023 KBO regular season standings battle. She didn't get behind the wheel immediately after drinking; she was stopped by police the next morning and had her license suspended due to a hangover.

Worse yet, Park didn't immediately notify her club that she had been caught drinking and driving. Doosan only learned of Park's DUI arrest this week when an anonymous tipster contacted them. Doosan contacted Park to confirm the facts, and she admitted to the incident. Doosan has filed a report with the KBO's Clean Baseball Center. Park Yoo-yeon, a native of Dongsang-go, realized her professional dream when she was selected by Doosan with the 60th pick in the second round of the 2017 Korean Baseball Organization draft. After going 1-for-3 in three games in his rookie year, he was drafted into active duty to fulfill his military obligations, and throughout his career, he has garnered attention as an offensive catcher whose strengths lie in hitting rather than defense."

Park competed with Jang Seung-hyun and Ahn Seung-han for the second catcher spot in Lee's first spring training with the team. However, Park did not perform as well as expected and was sent to Icheon, where he batted 2-for-6 with one RBI in 10 games after his initial call-up in August before suffering a knee injury and being sent back to the second team. Park underwent surgery on his left knee in early September, and during his rehabilitation, he made an irreparable mistake by driving under the influence. 온라인카지노

Upon taking office in March of last year, KBO President Heo Gu-yeon said, "I'm sure you're aware that in the past few years, instead of giving our fans hope and joy, we have disappointed them with various incidents, accidents, and poor performance in international competitions, giving them an excuse to leave us in a hurry. I would like to remind you that there are four things that should never be done: drinking and driving, match-fixing, sexual offenses, and drug use. We have learned the hard way that the actions of a few players can have a devastating impact on the entire game of baseball."

However, despite the commissioner's strong message, the KBO is not without its share of scandals. In addition to drunk driving, there have been two cases in a year of players hiding their arrests from their teams. The moral hazard of some members of the league has definitely tarnished the popularity of baseball.

The KBO's penalty for drunk driving is a 70-game suspension for the first offense, and a one-year disqualification for the first offense.

In addition to the KBO punishment, Doosan will hold Park responsible for bringing the team into disrepute by driving drunk and failing to report it through the disciplinary committee early next week.

It will be interesting to see what the consequences will be for a player who disrespected the KBO fans who traveled to the Futures League stadium to cheer him on, let alone the first team. A severe punishment is required to prevent a recurrence.