Hanwha Eagles' Ha Ju-suk, NC Dinos' Kim Ki-hwan suspended for drunk driving

Ha Ju-suk [NEWS1]

Kim Ki-hwan [YONHAP]

Hanwha Eagles infielder Ha Ju-suk will be suspended for 70 games and NC Dinos Kim Ki-hwan will be suspended for 90 games next season after being found guilty of driving under the influence in separate incidents.

Both decisions were made on Wednesday after the KBO held a rewards and punishment committee meeting. The decisions were made under Article 151 of the KBO Code that was revised on May 30. The KBO had tightened regulations on driving under the influence to raise awareness.

Ha was caught driving under the influence around 5:50 a.m. on Nov. 19 at Daejeon. His blood alcohol content was 0.078 percent, enough for his driver’s license to be suspended.

Hanwha reported the incident to the KBO Clean Baseball Center on Wednesday and KBO took disciplinary action in accordance with the regulations.

Kim was found to have been driving under the influence on Oct. 24 after causing a minor collision near his home. The specific location was not reported. Kim’s blood alcohol content was 0.041 percent at the time, also enough for his driver’s license to be suspended.

The KBO decided Wednesday that Kim would be suspended for 90 games considering that his drunk driving resulted in an accident.

According to the KBO Code, if a player’s blood alcohol content is high enough for the driver’s license to be suspended, the player will be suspended for 70 games while if the blood alcohol content is enough for the driver’s license to be invalidated, the player will be suspended for one year. If a player is found to have driven under the influence twice, the player will be suspended for five years. If a player is found to have driven under the influence more than three times, the player will be suspended for life.

Kim reported the accident to the club on Nov. 2 which was then reported to the KBO afterwards. The Dinos released Kim on Nov. 6 stating that it was a decision made considering the stricter social awareness on drunk driving.

BY YUN SO-HYANG [yun.sohyang@joongang.co.kr]