▲Jaewon Oh (left), Hyunsoo Kim. (Yonhap News Agency, Newsis)
Kim Hyun-soo, president of the Korea Professional Baseball Players Association (LG Twins), sent a notice regarding Oh Jae-won, a former professional baseball player from the Doosan Bears who was involved in a drug scandal. Kim Hyun-soo and Oh Jae-won are long-time teammates who spent their days together with the Doosan Bears.
On the 24th, Kim Hyun-soo said in a notice, “It is an inhumane and illegal act that uses one’s position as a senior to coerce a junior to receive a prescription for psychotropic drugs and then retaliates by inflicting physical and mental harm if the request is not complied with. “It didn’t happen,” he said, raising his voice.
Kim Hyun-soo continued, “In Korean society, it is easy to encounter various forms of illegal activities, and as professional athletes, we can be exposed even more easily.” He added, “If you are exposed to temptation, please think of your beloved family and colleagues.” .
Knowing full well that a single mistake can destroy the career you have built and the dreams you have cherished, and that an individual’s deviation is not something that happens alone, I once again appealed to them to resist temptation while thinking of their beloved family and colleagues.
If it is difficult to resist the temptation, actively ask for help from those around you, and the Players Association also promised to do its best to help.
In particular, Kim Hyun-soo expressed even more anger about this incident in which juniors were involved in wrongdoing under the pressure of their seniors. He emphasized that seniors should not make unreasonable demands to their juniors, and that juniors should not accept them just because they are seniors.
He advised that if it is difficult to refuse a senior’s coercive request, he or she should actively report it to the players’ association’s grievance handling system.
Kim Hyun-soo continued, “Currently, the KBO League is sold out every day and we are receiving love and support from many fans, and we are working harder in the game to reward them with good performances.” He added, “We are a family that is loved and loved by the fans outside of the game.” “Let’s all work together and develop together to protect and protect our grounds,” he urged.
Meanwhile, on the 17th, Oh Jae-won was arrested and indicted by the prosecution and handed over to trial on charges of violation of the Act on the Management of Narcotic Drugs (Hyangjeong), violation of the Act on Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (threat of retaliation, etc.), violation of the Resident Registration Act, and damage to special property.
Oh Jae-won is accused of using and possessing Philopon, receiving Stilnox tablets, a psychotropic drug containing sleeping pills, and purchasing after identity theft, as well as threatening eight juniors of the Doosan Bears team, where he played for 16 years, and forcing them to prescribe illegal sleeping pills on his behalf. are facing charges.
Currently, eight Doosan players have appointed legal representatives and are preparing for a judicial investigation.