A disciplinary committee will be held for Bae Young-bin, whose license was revoked for “drunk driving. In a situation where ‘double punishment’ is not possible, the Lotte Giants’ decision to hold a disciplinary committee means that the highest level of punishment, ‘expulsion’, seems very likely.
Lotte will hold its own disciplinary committee for Bae Young-bin, who recently came under fire for drunk driving. The KBO prohibits teams from disciplining players on their own in addition to the punitive committee. However, given the gravity of the matter, Lotte decided to hold its own disciplinary committee.
On April 14, a very shocking news broke: According to My Daily, Bae Young-bin was caught driving under the influence of alcohol in Songpa-gu, Seoul, late last month. At the time, Bae Young-bin was parked in an alley, so he hired a substitute driver and drove about 300 meters to get to a more spacious area.
Regardless of how far he drove, it’s a “crime” to get behind the wheel while intoxicated. In Bae’s case, he was fortunate not to cause an accident, but accidents can happen at any time when alcohol impairs judgment. In particular, Bae was reportedly intoxicated to the point of ‘license revocation’ at the time.굿모닝토토 도메인
It’s one thing to drink and drive, but it’s another to “hide” a crime. Despite being caught drinking and driving and having his license revoked, Bae Young-bin joined the final camp and trained without informing the club. Lotte didn’t learn of the incident until about a week after it happened, as players can’t control their personal lives, including traveling to Seoul and drinking alcohol.
Although a bit late, Lotte reported the incident to the KBO’s Clean Baseball Center shortly after confirming that Bae Young-bin’s license had been revoked for driving while intoxicated. The decision to hold its own punishment committee was made on the 16th.
Bae Young-bin, a “college graduate,” began his professional career in a Lotte uniform as a “foster player” this year. Bae made his debut on August 20 against the Kiwoom Heroes after appearing in 76 games for the second team, batting .253 with 49 hits, two home runs, and a .619 OPS. He impressed with a three-hit performance that day, and went on to play in 18 games as a pinch-hitter or defensive replacement, posting a .313 batting average.
Even though he wore a Lotte uniform as a “developmental player,” he showed promise as a backup, which was a big deal for the club. After failing to advance to the postseason for six years, the team began to “reorganize” by hiring a new manager, Kim Tae-hyung, who had been to the Korean Series (KS) for seven consecutive years, and appointing Park Joon-hyuk as general manager, which threw cold water on expectations.
Lotte, in particular, had to deal with the revelation in March that Seo Jun-won had committed a sex crime against a minor and had been hiding it from the club. You can’t cover the sky with your palms. Shortly after Seo’s sexual offenses against minors were revealed, Lotte held its own disciplinary committee and “decided to release pitcher Seo Jun-won,” according to a statement.
“The club has decided to release him, which is the highest level of discipline, regardless of whether or not the prosecutor’s office decides to prosecute him,” Lotte said, “We acknowledge our negligence in managing the player and will strive to strictly prevent recurrence by strictly implementing gender awareness education.” Lotte CEO Lee Kang-hoon also stepped forward and bowed his head, saying, “We sincerely apologize for the recent unsavory incident caused by a player belonging to the club.”
The KBO and its clubs conduct thorough training programs to prevent players from engaging in “deviant behavior” several times a year. However, incidents continue to occur every year. Some ‘unlearned’ players are undermining the efforts of the players who are sweating blood to perform their best on the field. In particular, Bae Young-bin made an irreparable mistake, even though he had seen his ‘seniors’ hang up their uniforms in disgrace and never return to the baseball world. Responsibility and consideration were nowhere to be found.
The KBO prohibits “double punishment” by clubs outside of the penalty committee. Nevertheless, given that Lotte has its own disciplinary committee, it is very likely that Bae Young-bin will be stripped of his jersey for his drunk driving offense. According to the KBO’s DUI penalties, a “license suspension” is punishable by 70 games and a “license revocation” is punishable by one year’s disqualification. If his license is revoked, Bae Young-bin will definitely be disqualified for one year, and if he is released by Lotte, it will be difficult for him to continue playing in the future.
The case of Bae Young-bin is likely to send a very strong message to the Lotte team and to many other players in the KBO.