KBO punishes three players for drinking at WBC

Kim Kwang-hyun apologizes during a press conference at Incheon SSG Landers Field in Incheon on June 1. [NEWS1]

The KBO on Wednesday handed down punishments to Kim Kwang-hyun of the SSG Landers, Lee Yong-chan of the NC Dinos and Jeong Cheol-won of the Doosan Bears after the three admitted to going out for drinks while on international duty at the World Baseball Classic.

Kim was fined 5 million won ($3,800) and ordered to complete 80 hours of community service, while Lee and Jeong were each given a 3 million won fine and 40 hours of community service.

According to the KBO, Kim visited a bar on two separate occasions during the tournament, while both Lee and Jeong only visited once. All other members of the team were confirmed to have stayed away, according to the league.

Reports that three Korean players had gone out for drinks during the WBC first broke last week and sparked outrage among Korean baseball fans — not so much because of the drinking, but because Korea performed especially poorly at the tournament and the consensus was that a large part of the blame fell on players underperforming.

“I'd like to apologize to all fans of baseball and my fellow players for acting so foolishly during the national team tournament,” Kim said in a statement last week. “I regret not exercising self-control as a veteran of the team.”

The KBO was able to penalize the three players under rules that require national team members to act with “honor and dignity” while on international duty.

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