"Top fine & deprive KS of opportunity"...Why was KIA so determined about the 'private life' issue

"Top fine & deprive KS of opportunity"...Why was KIA so determined about the 'private life' issue

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Sajik Stadium in Busan is set to open an exhibition game, and the Kia Tigers, who will face off against the Lotte Giants, had a time to express their position.

Infielder Hong Jong-pyo (25) bowed his head. Hong Jong-pyo had controversy over his private life in September last year. It was revealed that he met multiple opposite sexes during the same period. In addition, the media reported that he disparaged Gwangju Metropolitan City, home to KIA.안전놀이터

Kia's fans were disappointed. Public criticism continued against Hong Jong-pyo.

After the off-season, Hong finally expressed his position. "I have to continue to play baseball, but I think I have to make sure that I do it because there could be misunderstanding," the KIA team said. "Since the exhibition game is also an official game, it is right to apologize on the first day of the exhibition game."

Hong Jong-pyo said, "I would like to apologize for causing a problem related to my private life." He did not make an excuse for his privacy, saying, "I am sorry." However, he shook his head at the word "regional degradation." Hong Jong-pyo said, "I did not disparage Gwangju, which fans were disappointed with. I talked about my daily life because I was born and lived in the Seoul metropolitan area, but I did not make disparaging remarks about the region, such as "I hate Gwangju."

Regarding Lee Woo, who apologized ahead of the exhibition game, Hong Jong-pyo explained, "I should have apologized first, but since the regular season was just around the corner and I was preparing for the Korean Series, I did not want to hurt the team's atmosphere, so I quietly self-reflected."

After finishing first in the regular season last year, Kia won a direct ticket to the Korean Series. In the end, the team had four wins and one loss against the Samsung Lions in the Korean Series, and thus achieved overall championship in seven years. As the team faces a fierce competition in ranking and "Autumn Festival," it was thought that it would not be able to break the mood. "As it was at the end of the season, I didn't have a chance to apologize. As the exhibition game is also an official game, we have prepared an opportunity to apologize on the first day and make our position clear," a Kia official said.

Due to this incident, Hong lost the biggest opportunity in his baseball career. Last year, he played in 100 games with a batting average of 295,5 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) of 0.729. As an infield utility player, he seemed natural to join the Korean Series entry. However, he was excluded from the first team entry after controversy over his privacy, and eventually failed to make the roster of the Korean Series. He did not have the chance to join the closing camp even after the season ended.

KIA viewed the privacy issue as a "impeding team work." With a big competition ahead, he thought such controversy could shake the team.

"I felt like I needed to address this issue at least once," Kia Tigers' general manager Shim Jae-hak said. Upon hearing the news last year, the Kia Tigers strongly disciplined the club itself. I thought it was only a matter of teamwork that was implemented with such strict guidelines. The Kia Tigers also imposed the highest level of fines within the team's internal rules for those areas that hindered the team's teamwork due to privacy reasons. It also excluded entries and did not include entries for the Korean Series, as well as participants in competitions for training. The Kia Tigers also imposed the highest level of disciplinary action at the club, including training in the remaining teams and excluding the closing camp."

He was given strong punishment, but he also showed faith in Hong. He decided to trust Hong, who denied "regional degradation." "The club has not found any specific records on the degradation of the region. I have heard from many interviews with players, and that is why I try to trust them," Shim said.

Hong Jong-pyo said, "I was very encouraged by your support, but I am sorry to disappoint you over your personal life. I will do my best as a professional baseball player so that I don't have any problems with my personal life from now on," and added, "I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to (a woman who went through a lot)."