[Official] Seoul Baeja High School's baseball team, involved in a controversy over derogatory remarks about a region, faces severe sanctions: expulsion from the Cheongryonggi Tournament and a six-month suspension from all national competitions... KBSA to implement measures to prevent recurrence

*This content was translated by AI.

Recently, Seoul Baeja High School, which sparked controversy with its mocking and derogatory cheers targeting a region, has received a severe sanction: a six-month suspension from all national competitions.

The Korea Baseball and Softball Association (KBSA) held an emergency session of the '11th Sports Korea Fair Trade Commission' at the Olympic Parktel in Seoul Songpa-gu on the 1st.

The commission deliberated on the incident involving inappropriate cheers and slogans by the Seoul Baeja High School baseball team during the 81st Cheongryonggi National High School Baseball Championship held on June 29.

On June 29, the Seoul Baeja High School baseball team sparked controversy by shouting "Go, go, go Starbucks, go" and "Tank Day" toward Gwangju Jeil High School players during the first round of the 81st Cheongryonggi National High School Baseball Championship and the Weekend League King of Kings Tournament held at the Seoul Mokdong Baseball Stadium. The phrase was linked to Starbucks Korea's "Tank Day" event held on the 18th, the anniversary of the 1980 Gwangju Democratization Movement. At the time, Starbucks Korea faced controversy for promoting tumblers with slogans such as "tank" and "clatter on the desk," which were used by far-right communities to mock the democratization movement. The incident caused significant social backlash, leading to the resignation of Starbucks Korea's CEO and public apologies from Shinsegae Group Chairman Yong-jin Jung and Starbucks' U.S. headquarters.

Immediately after the game, recognizing the severity of the situation, Seoul Baeja High School's head coach Kwon Oh-young, coaching staff, the student who led the cheers, and some parents went directly to the Gwangju Jeil High School dugout to apologize. Although they promised disciplinary action against some students and measures to prevent recurrence at the school level, the situation did not calm down easily. Eventually, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education launched a comprehensive investigation, and the KBSA, noting that the incident had spread into a social controversy, convened an emergency session of the Sports Korea Fair Trade Commission (Korea Fair Trade Commission) considering the gravity of the situation.

The Korea Fair Trade Commission, after verifying the relevant facts and comprehensively deliberating based on statements from those involved, determined that this incident violated sportsmanship and disrupted order in the stadium.

As a result of the Sports Korea Fair Trade Commission's decision, Seoul Baeja High School will be suspended from all national competitions for six months. The sanction will take effect from the second round of the Cheongryonggi National High School Baseball Championship on the 2nd, confirming the team's expulsion from the current tournament. While disciplinary action against the team has been decided, the commission determined that further deliberation is needed regarding sanctions against coaches and players. Consequently, a detailed investigation will be conducted during the suspension period. The commission decided to reconvene the Sports Korea Fair Trade Commission to identify specific individuals and deliberate on their sanctions within the suspension period.

The KBSA stated, "We take the seriousness of this incident very seriously. In addition to the sanctions from the Korea Fair Trade Commission, we will pursue follow-up measures and institutional improvements to eradicate inappropriate cheering culture in stadiums and prevent recurrence."

First, starting from all tournaments held after today, it will be mandatory to provide prior notice prohibiting inappropriate cheering behaviors during the pre-game manager-home plate meeting. Additionally, the association plans to revise relevant regulations, including establishing a new aggravated punishment criterion for cases where "significant social or economic harm is caused to individuals or groups," to enable stricter responses to similar incidents in the future.

Furthermore, rather than taking one-off measures, the KBSA plans to collaborate with relevant institutional investors, including the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, to develop educational programs aimed at fostering correct historical awareness and social sensitivity among coaches and student athletes.

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*This content was translated by AI.