"I'll come to a conclusion as soon as possible" Lotte's official stance on illegal gambling has arrived, and the time for a "strict warning" has come

*This content was translated by AI.

Lotte Giants accepted the Korea Baseball Organization's (KBO) disciplinary action against the four illegal gambling players that recently occurred.

Lotte said on the 23rd, "The club will immediately implement the results of the KBO reward and punishment committee. Based on this, we will conduct internal discussions within the club," he said.

Earlier, KBO confirmed disciplinary action against Ko Seung-min (26), Kim Dong-hyuk (26), Na Seung-yeop (24), and Kim Se-min (23), who were accused of illegal gambling at the reward and punishment committee held on the 23rd.

All charges related to gambling were admitted. KBO explained, "It was confirmed that the four players referred to the reward and punishment committee visited a gambling arcade located near Taiwan's Tainan accommodation, which was their team's first spring camp, on February 12 and used an electronic betting game."

In accordance with Article 151 of the KBO Covenant [Dignity Damage Act], Kim Dong-hyuk, who was confirmed to have visited the place three times since last year, was suspended for the heaviest 50 games. The remaining three, Ko Seung-min, Na Seung-yeop and Kim Se-min, who were confirmed to visit in the first inning, were suspended for 30 games.

However, the possibility of additional sanctions was left open. Recently, a complaint against the players was officially filed through the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency. The complaint included allegations of gambling in Taiwan and receiving prizes above the standard. It is not yet known whether the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency will start a formal investigation.

KBO said, "The police investigation is underway. However, it decided to impose preemptive sanctions in consideration of the seriousness of the issues, such as the social controversy caused by the players and the image of the league that has been tarnished by them. "Additional sanctions may be imposed depending on the results of the police investigation in the future," he explained.

At the same time, Lotte's position, which considered its own disciplinary action based on the results of the KBO reward and punishment committee, has also become complicated. When the controversy came to light, Lotte said, "The club feels the current situation seriously. We will sternly deal with any additional confirmation through a full investigation. He also warned the entire team. I apologize once again for causing a stir," he said, signaling disciplinary action.

Currently, the players are officially excluded from all training as well as spring camps and have time to self-reflect. Some analysts say that if the team's own disciplinary action is added to the KBO disciplinary action, it will not be able to play for at least the first half.

The Lotte team will not come to a conclusion too late. After the nightmarish Taiwan camp, Lotte started the second camp in Miyazaki, Japan, on the 21st with 39 players. Kim Won-joong, Choi Joon-yong, who returned from dizzying traffic accidents and injuries, and 2026 rookies Kim Han-hole and Lee Seo-joon, who will be the future of Lotte, have newly joined. On the previous day (22nd), he held an equal match against the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) Seibu Lions in a 3-3 draw, raising expectations.

However, the remaining players' propaganda and efforts are being buried in the disciplinary results of the four illegal gambling players. A Lotte club official told Star News on the phone on the 23rd, "After hearing the results of the KBO reward and punishment committee, the club immediately started discussions. We will reach a conclusion as soon as possible for other players who are working hard," he said.

Fans also want to hear more about the players who sweat at the camp site, not the players who caused a stir. The Lotte club said, "Once again, we sincerely apologize for causing concern to the fans over the unfortunate incident. We will do our best to prepare for the rest of the camp so that we can restore trust with our fans," he said again.

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*This content was translated by AI.