At this point, where there is a lot of disappointment in Korean baseball, another unfortunate incident has caused baseball fans to feel tired.
On the 23rd, the news that Lotte Seo Jun-won was accused of sex crimes related to minors was transmitted, and the Korean baseball world turned upside down.
Seo Jun-won was called “Ace”메이저놀이터 during his high school days in Gyeongnam, and made his professional debut after receiving the first nomination from the Lotte Giants in the 2019 rookie draft. He emerged as a promising player by throwing a ball that reached 150 km even with a sidearm. However, his growth was slow, and he did not come up to the expectations of the club.
It was different this year. He got married off-season, trained hard in spring camp while losing his weight, and was named a 5 starter. Because of this, his expectations were high.
However, it turned out that there was a crime that had been hidden for three months. At the end of last year, it was revealed that Seo Jun-won was involved in a sex crime involving a minor and was investigated by the police. His exact charge is a violation of the Act on the Protection of Children and Adolescents’ Sexual Exploitation (production and distribution of sexual exploitation, etc.).
On this charge, he even went through a warrant review, and was released after the warrant was dismissed and investigated without detention. It is known that Seo Jun-won did not inform the club of this fact.
Of course, the club also turned upside down. Lotte started evolving quickly after recognizing it. Lotte said in a press release, “We decided to release pitcher Seo Jun-won,” and “As soon as it was confirmed that Seo Jun-won had been investigated by the police for criminal acts against minors and was now transferred to the prosecution, the club held a disciplinary committee. Regardless of the situation, we have decided to resign, which is the highest level of punishment.”
In this way, Seo Jun-won appeared in 123 games in the first team and had to take off his uniform with a record of 15 wins, 23 losses, 5 holds, and an ERA of 5.56.
Korean baseball is in crisis this year. He returned with a bitter report card of three consecutive first-round elimination in the WBC tournament. Fans’ disappointment is indescribable.
Moreover, players have been pouring out negative issues by causing incidents and accidents every year, such as drunk driving, gambling, and violence.
But this time it’s a sex-related crime. It can’t be a serious matter. It is like pouring fuel on the disappointment of fans caused by the WBC disaster.