(LEAD) baseball player-gambling
SEOUL, April 14 (Yonhap) — The South Korean baseball club LG Twins announced Friday their outfielder Lee Chun-woong has admitted to engaging in illegal online gambling.
The Twins said Lee, who first faced gambling allegations late last month, acknowledged his wrongdoing Wednesday in the midst of the club’s internal investigation. The 34-year-old had at first denied those accusations, the Twins added.
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) received an anonymous tip on Lee’s misconduct in March and said on April 6 that it would ask prosecutors to investigate gambling charges against Lee.
© Provided by Yonhap News English LG Twins outfielder Lee Chun-woong plays during a Korea Baseball Organization wild card game against the Kiwoom Heroes at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, in this file photo from Nov. 2, 2020. (Yonhap)
The Twins removed Lee from their active roster on that same day and began running their own probe.
“We immediately notified the KBO of the latest development,” the Twins said in a statement Friday. “We will cooperate with prosecutors and the league office going forward.”
The Twins issued an apology to their fans, saying they hold themselves accountable for poor management of their players.
According to sources, Lee did not bet on KBO games. The exact nature of Lee’s gambling activities and other details likely won’t be disclosed until prosecutors complete their investigation.
The KBO, meanwhile, is expected to open disciplinary proceedings against Lee following the investigation.
Reports of the KBO receiving the tip on gambling allegations against an active player surfaced on March 31, the eve of Opening Day. Word quickly spread throughout the baseball community that Lee was the player being accused.
The Twins, though, kept Lee on their roster for a few more days and trusted Lee’s claim of innocence. Only after the KBO decided to ask prosecutors for further investigation did the Twins take him off the squad and start questioning Lee.
A Twins official on Friday defended the decision, saying the KBO had initially told the team not to trust the anonymous tip.
“When we asked the league office, they said the tip lacked credibility and we didn’t hear more details,” the club official said. “Then on April 5, we heard back from them and they said there was something to that information. So we took Lee Chun-woong off the roster the next day and got him to admit to his wrongdoing.”
Lee signed a tryout contract with the Twins in 2011 and made his KBO debut with them the following year. He has been with the Seoul-based club ever since, and established himself as an everyday player in 2016.
He has since lost playing time and appeared in only 19 games last year.
For his career, Lee has a .289 batting average with 18 home runs, 211 RBIs and 58 steals in 622 games.
Lee’s gambling admission is the latest black eye to a league that has already dealt with some disastrous off-field incidents this year.
Just prior to the start of the season in April, the Lotte Giants belatedly learned that their pitcher Seo Jun-won had faced a criminal investigation for alleged sexual misconduct involving a minor. The Giants released him and the KBO suspended him indefinitely.
In late March, the Kia Tigers fired their general manager, Jang Jung-suk, after Jang allegedly asked a free agent catcher Park Dong-won for a kickback during contract negotiations last offseason. Prosecutors are also looking into this case.
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