Former Nexen Heroes pitcher apologizes for walking half-naked in Japan

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Former Nexen Heroes pitcher apologizes for walking half-naked in Japan

Published: 09 Nov. 2023, 19:37 Updated: 10 Nov. 2023, 11:38

Former Nexen Heroes pitcher Cho Young-hun is seen in a YouTube video taken in Osaka, Japan, which was uploaded last week. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Former baseball player and YouTuber Cho Young-hun apologized for cursing and walking half-naked while intoxicated in public during his recent visit to Osaka, Japan.

Fellow YouTuber Kim Yun-tae, who often collaborates with Cho, said that the Japanese police questioned the two for 30 minutes due to the disruptive behavior.

The 36-year-old, who played as a pitcher for the Nexen Heroes, now Kiwoom Heroes, until he retired in 2014, has since been a YouTuber.

In a video titled "Dokdo is my land" that Cho uploaded on his channel last week, the former baseball player can be seen shouting "Do you want to die?" to people on the street.

The Dokdo islets is a disputed islet on the East Sea, which Japan claims as its own.

The baseball player even provoked some people, asking if they were looking at him.

Cho not only walked barefoot. The video shows him walking late at night with his shirt off.

The video has been taken down.

Former Nexen Heroes pitcher Cho Young-hun is seen walking half naked in a YouTube video taken in Osaka, Japan, which was uploaded last week. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

After his conduct in Japan came to light, Cho apologized on his YouTube channel.

In the eight-minute video, he said he only wanted to make himself known. He also added that he was intoxicated when the video was made.

"I apologize for causing such a stir and disappointing my fans," Cho said in his YouTube video. "I will work to become a better husband and father."

Despite the apology, questions arose regarding Cho's sincerity when a second apology video, uploaded on Kim's YouTube channel the following day, showed Cho laughing with Kim.

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]