Where did Lotte go in the 'Strict disciplinary notice'? 6 days of the illegal gambling scandal have been silent... Will fans live up to their expectations with punishment and punishment

*This content was translated by AI.

Six days have already passed since the illegal gambling scandal of some Lotte Giants players occurred. While the club, which predicted severe disciplinary action, is still silent, fans' attention is not cooling down.

The Lotte team was troubled by the out-of-the-blue news ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday. It was announced on the afternoon of the 13th that four players, Ko Seung-min (26), Kim Dong-hyuk (26), Na Seung-yeop (24), and Kim Se-min (23), visited a stadium in Taiwan early on the 12th. Lotte players' deviations, which were released on social networking services (SNS), spread to the brunt of controversy over sexual harassment by some players. Fortunately, according to Taiwanese media such as Sanli News, the controversy ended for now as no victims of sexual harassment appeared.

However, as the timing of the incident and the contents of the team's communication letter from the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) are known, the impact has not disappeared. The dawn of the 12th, when the players visited the stadium, was just a few hours after Lotte Group dispatched a five-star hotel chef to Taiwan to provide a special meal. In addition, KBO directly mentioned casinos and pachinko as examples of refraining from damaging their dignity, urging each club to avoid damaging their dignity in February. As a result, the excuse that he didn't know it was a big deal didn't work.

This is why the club's apology with a strong attitude came out. Lotte immediately admitted and bowed its head that evening that four players had visited an illegal place. "The club feels the current situation seriously, and we will sternly deal with additional confirmations through a full investigation. He also warned the entire team. I apologize once again for causing a stir," he said, promising to prevent a recurrence.

However, after the apology, the Lotte club disappeared. All they said was the players' return home measures and reporting to the KBO Clean Baseball Center. However, time was needed to investigate the entire team and check the facts accurately. The controversy, which began in the online community, has delayed time, adding to unclear facts.

However, as the end of Taiwan's camp is imminent, a time for a decision is approaching for Lotte. Lotte's team will finish its schedule in Taiwan after training on the day. On the 20th, he will move to Miyazaki, Japan, via Busan, and hold the second camp until March 5. The second camp has a series of actual games with the Doosan Bears and SSG Landers, including the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) teams, so the team can no longer be shaken by some external issues. KBO disciplinary action is expected to some extent. According to KBO regulations, gambling activities such as illegal Internet gambling are set as suspension of participation activities for more than one month, suspension of more than 30 games, and sanctions of more than 3 million won.

What shows fans' interest is Lotte's attitude that it will take measures equivalent to the KBO. In the meantime, Lotte has been taking relatively strong self-disciplinary measures for some players' actions to damage their dignity. Another hot topic here is the so-called "crime of objection." Just hours before Lotte players' illegal gambling was known, the biggest topic was Lotte Chairman Shin Dong-bin's "Mr. Kidari" anecdote.

Chairman Shin Dong-bin's active sponsorship of ski and snowboarding events for more than a decade blossomed at the 2026 Milan-Cortina D'Ampezzo Winter Olympics. Choi Ga-on (halfpipe), who supported the full amount of back surgery, won the first gold medal in snow sports, and snowboarding, such as Kim Sang-kyum (parallel competition) silver and Yoo Seung-eun (Big Air) bronze, has been reborn as Korea's beneficial sports. Some players have ruined the good news of the owner's attention for the first time in a long time, so there seems to be a stronger disciplinary action.

However, there is also a view that this issue requires clear punishment for personal injury, not as a level of disgust. In particular, if it is to point out the prevailing atmosphere among some players, it is necessary to raise awareness by punishing them. Baseball fans want certain disciplinary action against players who have caused a lot of disappointment. While KBO is also closely watching the issue, baseball is paying attention to what kind of disciplinary action Lotte will take to meet fans' expectations.

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*This content was translated by AI.