<figure id="attachment_315880" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2514px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-315880"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="329c0f6d"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/06/71436db72d03a6db32a62012ef53c6d0.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-315880" class="wp-caption-text">Kim, who suffered the heaviest penalty of all: indefinite suspension from the second team and a fine of 500,000 yen.</figcaption></figure>
<p>Japan&#8217;s WBC fever has not yet cooled off, as evidenced by the fact that the Samurai Japan documentary &#8220;Samurai Beyond Longing: The Record of the World&#8217;s Best&#8221; has been selling out at cinemas screening the film.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, South Korea, which was eliminated in the first round of the tournament, has been under fire after a scandal surfaced involving a member of the national team. On June 7, the Korea Baseball Officials (KBO) fined Kim approximately 500,000 yen and 80 hours of community service, and fined Lee and Chung approximately 300,000 yen and 40 hours of community service. Lee and Chung were fined 300,000 yen and given 40 hours of community service.</p>
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<p><strong> It all started with a video posted on May 30 on the YouTube channel &#8220;SAY ENTER.&#8221; The video showed that the three ace pitchers from each team had been going to a bar in Akasaka. The KBO immediately launched an investigation and the situation came to light.</strong></p>
<p><strong> Korea was expected to win this year&#8217;s tournament, but was eliminated in the first round. The scandal broke amidst growing discontent within the country. The Chosun Ilbo and other media outlets criticized them for &#8220;offending the pride of the taegeuk flag,&#8221; and the three athletes held an apology press conference, bowing their heads and saying, &#8220;We sincerely apologize for the great disappointment we have caused by our disgraceful behavior.&#8221;</strong></p>
<h2>Drinking until dawn for three nights in a row?</h2>
<figure id="attachment_315879" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 5305px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-315879"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="5e0b13da"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/06/ed56b3746568e454cfc2715c17074fa3.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-315879" class="wp-caption-text">Kim, who also played for the Cardinals</figcaption></figure>
<p>The three players stated that they went out drinking on March 7 and 10. They ate at a Korean restaurant and then went to a neighboring pub before returning to their apartments. He implies that there is no link between his drinking and their losses to Australia (7-8 on March 9) and Japan (4-13 on March 10).</p>
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<p>However,</p>
<p><strong> According to the video that started the rumor, the day before the Australia and Japan matches, he allegedly visited an exclusive club and drank until dawn, and an article in Bunshun Online on June 9 reported that he went out to Akasaka for three consecutive nights from June 7 to 9. He was said to have been drinking until around 4:00 a.m. after moving from one bar to another.</strong></p>
<p>The high-class club in Akasaka was a place where women in revealing clothes served customers. Many of the women working there were said to be Korean.</p>
<p><strong> The three players were drinking whiskey and champagne and having a great time. According to OSEN, a sports media outlet, one of the players, Kim, said, &#8220;We can&#8217;t have dinner unless we get good results. If they had nothing to be ashamed of, they should have announced that they had dined out in a dignified manner, just like the Japanese team.</strong></p>
<p>All three players were demoted to the second team after the problem was discovered. Kim, who started in the two games won by Japan at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and was dubbed the &#8220;Japan killer,&#8221; was dropped from the game indefinitely.</p>
<figure id="attachment_315882" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2954px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-315882"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="b49366b5"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/06/eea1a37c26762ccd78394d898169e57f.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-315882" class="wp-caption-text">Kim was hit by a pitch by the Japanese batting lineup in the &#8217;09 WBC. The batter in the photo is Ichiro.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_315881" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 5636px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-315881"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="51eeaf76"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/06/16bc81c4a5003d4dbd6048d2d7993dd2.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-315881" class="wp-caption-text">Kim&#8217;s most powerful weapon is his powerful straight ball of nearly 160 km/h.</figcaption></figure>


 Reuters/Afro AP/Afro

 Japan won the WBC, but scandals involving national team players surfaced and became a major problem in South Korea. Three ace-class pitchers drank until morning during the tournament. It was also reported that it was the day before the Japan game, in which the team lost badly. The following is a report on the astonishing behavior of the problematic players in an upscale club.

Korea Eliminated from the First round of the WBC Reportedly Drank until Morning Before the Game Against Japan

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