2 KBO pitchers to stand trial on assault charges

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Aug. 31 (Yonhap) -- Two pitchers in South Korean professional baseball, including a former All-Star, will stand trial on charges of assaulting their high school teammate.

Lee Young-ha of the Doosan Bears and Kim Dae-hyun of the LG Twins have been indicted without detention over allegations that they had beaten a teammate while at Sunrin Internet High School in Seoul, the two players' teams said Wednesday.

Kim, 25, is currently fulfilling his military duty and remains under Twins' control. He will be tried at a military court, while Lee, 24, will face trial at the Seoul Western District Court.

The ex-teammate first made claims in February 2021 that Lee and Kim had physically assaulted younger players at the school. The former teammate also said he sat out some practices because of Lee's and Kim's physical abuse.

Both players have denied those charges. Lee acknowledged he had occasionally gathered the entire team to keep things in order but said he had never singled out a particular player for abuse.

The Bears and the Twins met with Sunrin school officials last year but they were unable to confirm assault charges.

The former teammate then took the case to the state-run Sports Ethics Center, which then asked police to investigate those assault claims.

Following his indictment, Lee was dropped from the Bears' active roster on Aug. 21 and he has not even pitched in the minor league since.

Lee has a 6-8 record with a 4.93 ERA in 21 appearances this season. Lee was selected to the All-Star Game in 2019, a season in which he set career highs with 17 wins and a 3.64 ERA.

Kim pitched for the Twins from 2016 to 2021, going 16-21 with a 5.90 ERA while splitting his time in the rotation and the bullpen.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
(END)