"Hong Jong-pyo's disciplinary action is the highest level, and he has never compared it to the region..." Why KIA pointed out in public
"Hong Jong-pyo's disciplinary action is the highest level, and he has never compared it to the region..." Why KIA pointed out in public
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KIA checked with the player himself when Hong Jong-pyo's privacy issue was on the cutting board through the online community in September last year, and quickly took its own disciplinary action as Hong Jong-pyo admitted it.메이저사이트
For starters, Kia removed Hong from its entry list ahead of the match against Gwangju NC Dinosaurs on Sept. 22, 2014, banning him from playing in the remaining games. Kia is the team that directly advanced to the Korean Series after winning the regular season last year. It also deprived Hong of a chance to play in the Korean Series. The same applies to the wrap-up camp held after the end of the Korean Series.
On top of that, Hong had to pay a fine to his team. He thus imposed the highest level of disciplinary action on Kia's own. However, as the player did not commit an offense such as drunk driving, but rather a matter related to personal privacy, the team has only not announced the fact that it has imposed its own disciplinary action.
KIA decided that Hong Jong-pyo had gone through a period of self-reflection, and added Hong Jong-pyo's name to the spring camp list held in January this year.
However, Hong stood in front of reporters ahead of an exhibition game against the Lotte Giants at Sajik Stadium in Busan on Tuesday. Why did he stand in public when disciplinary action against the Lotte Giants has already been taken by the club in connection with his personal life.
In September last year, an anonymous writer's post on an online community raised controversy by adding a claim that "Hong Jong-pyo made a disparaging comment on the region" along with information on Hong's personal life. It was claimed that Hong Jong-pyo disparaged Gwangju, the home of KIA.
The KIA team also tried to confirm the fact, but the player himself flatly denied it and could not find any signs. Therefore, Hong needed to make his position public on the controversy over regional degradation.
Hong Jong-pyo said, "I have never done anything about the controversy over disparaging Gwangju area that fans are worried about. I was just talking about life because the place where I was born and lived when I was young was in the metropolitan area, but now the story has spread as it is exaggerated into the disparaging Gwangju area. I hope the fans don't misunderstand."
In addition, he apologized to the fans and the person concerned regarding the privacy controversy. Hong Jong-pyo, who said, "I caused a problem with my personal life at the end of the last regular season, and I came here because I wanted to apologize politely," said, "I should have apologized quickly, but at that time, it was almost over the regular season and I was preparing for the Korean Series, so I was quietly self-reflecting because I thought it could harm the team's atmosphere. I am very sorry for causing disappointment to the fans because they cheered and loved me a lot last year. I will do my best to prevent any privacy problems as a professional baseball player from now on," and added, "I am sorry to those involved."
Shim Jae-hak, Kia's general manager, also conveyed his team's stance. "I felt like I should address Hong Jong-pyo at least once. Last year, the team strictly disciplined Hong. It was the highest level of disciplinary action taken by the team in recent years," Shim said. "The team has found no record of Hong talking directly (deprecating the region). The player himself said he never made any disparaging remarks on the region. I trust the player."