MLB cancels Korea Tour, citing 'issues with the event promoter'

Major League Baseball has completely canceled its Korea Tour scheduled in November, blaming "contractual issues with the event promoter" in a press release Friday.

“MLB has had ongoing contractual issues with the event promoter that we have been trying to resolve for some time.” said Jim Small, MLB senior vice president, in a statement. “Regrettably we are at a point where we have to cancel the upcoming tour because the event is unable to meet the high quality our Korean fans deserve.”

“We are sorry that we weren’t able to make the event happen for our fans in Korea. MLB and the KBO have had a long relationship together partnering on efforts to grow our sport. We thank Commissioner Heo, the city of Busan and other local officials for all of their efforts. We look forward to continuing to work with them to bring future events to Korea.”

The statement did not specify what contractual issues had caused the cancellation.

In a statement of its own, the KBO expressed regret at the MLB's decision, accusing the U.S. league of breaking the trust of Korean baseball fans and to the players that had been preparing for the series.

According to the KBO, the MLB had been pushing the domestic league to arrange a Korea Tour for some time, and had confirmed earlier this year that everything was in place to ensure its smooth operation.

The KBO agreed to participate in the tournament, fielding two teams made up of local players, but the event was to be organized by the MLB and its partners.

The MLB's Korea Tour was set to include four games, two in Busan on Nov. 11 and Nov. 12 and two in Seoul on Nov. 14 and Nov. 15.

It would have been the first time that an official game organized by the MLB was played in Korea since 1922.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]