The SSG Landers have released a player who committed a secondary assault in the absence of a Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) disciplinary action. Why did the team take this preemptive action, and why is it a “double punishment” prohibited by the KBO?
SSG held its own disciplinary committee on Dec. 12 and decided to release pitcher Lee Won-jun, 25, who recently came under fire for his batting behavior. The SSG, which requested a waiver from the KBO on the 13th, explained the reasoning behind the severe punishment by saying, “We believe that this is a serious matter that hinders the development of professional baseball, so we decided to take the strongest sanction that the club can take, which is expulsion.”
The assault occurred at SSG’s reinforced SSG Futures Park, where the Future Team camps, on April 6, right in the middle of the leadoff battle. It went like this. Infielder A took issue with rookie infielder B’s attitude and gathered the juniors for a lunchtime group bashing. After the hazing, pitcher C assaulted B with a bat, and infielder D organized another hazing. Pitcher C was Lee Won-jun.
SSG became aware of the issue on the 7th, the day after the incident, and immediately reported it to the KBO Clean Baseball Center. The players were interviewed over the weekend and a written report was submitted, and the perpetrator (Lee Won-jun) was immediately excluded from training and games.
The KBO prohibits teams from imposing their own discipline outside of the punishment handed down by the penalty committee. This was agreed upon by the KBO and the 10 clubs to prevent players from being punished twice. However, SSG was caught in a double-discipline controversy when it took the preemptive step of releasing a player while the KBO’s punishment committee had not yet met.토토사이트
An SSG official at the scene said, “We focused on the seriousness of Lee Won-jun’s situation. “We focused on the seriousness of the situation,” said an SSG representative at the scene, “assaulting him with a bat is something that should never be done.” “Suspension is not a disciplinary action. Fines, suspensions, volunteer work, and suspension from participation are all up to the KBO. There is nothing the club can do about it.”
Lee was a highly touted prospect who was drafted by SK Wyverns, the predecessor of SSG Landers, in the first round of the 2017 rookie draft out of Yatapo. He later fulfilled his military obligations through a commercial service and was dishonorably discharged after assaulting a teammate while preparing to return to the first team at the reinforced Futures Field.
Lee’s first-team record was 22 games without a win and three losses with an ERA of 11.72. His farewell game for the first team came on July 30, 2020, against LG Electronics.
On behalf of the team, SSG coach Kim Won-hyung said, “I would like to apologize once again from my point of view that something happened that shouldn’t have happened. It’s the club’s decision to expel him, and I feel the same way. We will work harder to prevent recurrence in the future.” He bowed his head.
Meanwhile, infielders B and D, who gave the slap, await discipline from the KBO’s punishment committee under the ban on double punishment. SSG said, “As for the other two players who ordered the gesture, we will take action based on the outcome of the KBO’s punishment committee. We will also announce follow-up measures, including measures to prevent recurrence, in the near future.”