‘Bat assault’ SSG 1 gets dishonorable discharge in first case of new discharge rules… “I regretted and reflected on my actions”
First-round pick Lee Won-jun, 25, was recently dismissed from the SSG in disgrace following an assault case, the first instance of a “one strike and you’re out” rule introduced three years ago.
“The club held its own disciplinary committee on the 12th and decided to dismiss Lee Won-jun, who recently came under fire for corporal punishment with a bat,” SSG said on the 13th. At the same time, SSG requested a waiver from the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO).
This is the first time a player’s expulsion has been decided under the team management regulations. In May 2020, during the SSG Landers’ predecessor team, the SK Wyverns, a group chant and assault by seniors on juniors took place at the same location. The younger players were accused of driving without a license and driving under the influence of alcohol. At the time, SK said in July, shortly after the KBO Punishment Committee’s findings, “We will revise the existing squad management regulations and review the system to apply ‘one-strike-out’ (expulsion) depending on the severity of the offense if a player commits an off-field act that damages the dignity of the game, such as violence, sexual offenses, drunk driving (driving without a license), or gambling. At the same time, we issued an apology stating that we will thoroughly manage the team to prevent the recurrence of kicking and corporal punishment, even for disciplinary purposes.”
In August of that year, the team management regulations were revised to include “violence, sexual offenses, drunk driving (without a license), gambling, etc.” in the sanctions and penalties in Chapter 4, Article 32. Lee Won-jun became the first player to be subjected to this provision.
A graduate of Seohyeoncho, Masongjoong, and Yatapgo, Lee joined SK in the first round of the 2017 rookie draft. He was so highly touted that the team chose him over local Incheon prospect Kim Hye-sung (24, Kiwoom Heroes). After making his first-team debut in 2018, he went through a stint in the Korean Armed Forces Athletic Corps (Commerce) without much success, and recently, he was dreaming of making a comeback by going through the club’s biomechanics program. But in the heat of the moment, he let his emotions get the better of him and self-destructed his career at SSG. His career record in the first team is 0-3 with an ERA of 11.72 in 22 games.
An SSG official told Star News, “It shouldn’t have happened again, and while there were reports of the same problem recurring, we decided that it was a bigger problem with the bat. Today, the manager and the player had a meeting, and he said that he lost control in the heat of the moment and did something he shouldn’t have done, and he regrets it deeply. He realized the seriousness of what he had done through the people around him, so he took the disciplinary action more lightly than I expected.”
The incident was not Lee Won-jun’s fault alone. It started on the 6th of this month when Player A decided that Junior B’s demeanor and facial expression while talking to other players was not good. At the SSG Futures Field in Ganghwa, Incheon, Player A ordered the younger players, including B, to perform a group huddle, which included Lee Won-jun and D, who didn’t realize it was a huddle. Lee Won-jun realized that B was the one who was being kicked and hit him twice on the butt with a baseball bat. D called the players together and gave him another slap. This was revealed when the second team coach checked B’s body, and SSG reported it to the KBO Clean Baseball Center on the same day (7th). The SSG conducted its own investigation and submitted a report on the 9th, which is currently being investigated by the KBO.바카라
The A’s and D’s are also expected to be followed up on. The SSG commented on the decision to expel Lee Won-jun, saying, “We determined that this was a serious matter that hindered the development of professional baseball and decided on the strongest sanction that the club could take,” adding, “We will take action against the other two players who ordered the bullying based on the results of the KBO’s punishment committee. We will also announce follow-up measures, including measures to prevent recurrence, in the near future.”