Korean major who played against Shohei Ohtani in the season opener: “Alleged assault and countersuit by a junior player” – Trouble in the mud.

Shohei Ohtani has signed with the Dodgers for the highest price in sports history, a total of $700 million (¥102 billion) over 10 years. His official debut is likely to be in the season-opening doubleheader against the Padres in Seoul, South Korea, on March 20 and 21.

One Korean player in the Padres lineup who will face Ohtani is not at all happy. Kim Ha-sung, 28, became the first Asian infielder to win a Golden Glove Award in the majors this season.

Kim has played for the Padres since 2009 and is a good hitter who plays second base, third base, and right field. He also represented South Korea in the WBC in March.

He’s going to make a lot of money in the majors.

Such a great player is now in trouble. He is being blackmailed by Im Hye-dong, 27, a junior who played on the same team in Korean professional baseball.

The two were originally good friends, and at the time of Kim’s departure to the U.S., Lim was acting as his manager. The disturbance started at a drinking party attended by several players in February ’21. Kim and Lim got into an argument and struggled. Lim is said to have demanded a hefty settlement from Kim for the assault. According to the Korean media outlet “Korea Wave,” he told Lim that he would make a lot of money in the major leagues and that he would need about 1 billion won (approx. 100 million yen) in compensation.

At the time, the new corona infection was spreading and outside meetings were prohibited. Kim, who was about to make her major label debut, was afraid that she would be found in trouble for holding a drinking party, which she had been asked to refrain from, so she gave him 400 million won (approx. 40 million yen). According to what Kim’s agent later revealed, the condition was that she “will not ask for money or contact him or do anything that will be detrimental to him in the future.

The situation did not end there. The trouble continued to this day.

On December 7, Yim appeared on the online media outlet “Carosello Institute. On December 7, Lim appeared on the online media outlet “Carosello Institute,” claiming that she had been assaulted by Kim on a daily basis. He threw a liquor bottle at me at a banquet and hit me on the back of the head while I was driving. While Kim had a single room during her stay in the U.S., Lim claimed that she was forced to sleep on a sofa and never slept more than four hours.

Kim’s side refutes this claim immediately afterwards. He said that he filed a complaint with the police for defamation of character because many of Lim’s statements were untrue, and that he decided to file a criminal complaint because Lim frequently tried to contact him, contrary to the terms of the 400 million won payment. The claim is that Yim repeatedly demanded money from him, and that he had been subjected to blackmail and threats.

(A Korean newspaper reporter) Upon receiving the complaint from Lim, the South Korean police authorities banned him from leaving the country. They plan to call him directly for questioning.