Seoul: The top national sports body will meet next week to schedule the hearing of an appeal by a Seoul high school baseball team over its ban due to trash talk, an official reported Friday. The official from the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee (KSOC) mentioned that a subcommittee for its disciplinary committee is set to convene next Tuesday to assess the appeal submitted by Pai Chai High School.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Korea Baseball Softball Association had recently imposed a six-month ban on Pai Chai's baseball team. The ban followed an incident where the team's players mocked their opponents from Gwangju Jeil High School during a tournament game in Seoul by shouting phrases such as "Let's go to Starbucks!" and "Tank Day!" These chants were associated with a controversial Starbucks Korea promotion on May 18, which coincided with the anniversary of the 1980 Gwangju pro-democracy uprising. The promotion faced criticism for allegedly trivializing the movement and its historical significance.
In response to the ban, Pai Chai appealed the decision to the KSOC, which is responsible for reviewing appeals of decisions made by national sports federations. While the KSOC's disciplinary committee is scheduled to meet on July 20, it remains unclear if Pai Chai's case will be addressed on that day due to a backlog of pending appeals.
"The subcommittee will meet next Tuesday to determine whether the Pai Chai case will be handled on July 20," the KSOC official stated. "However, given the number of other pending cases, I cannot definitively confirm that Pai Chai's appeal will be reviewed on that date."
If the suspension is not overturned, Pai Chai will be excluded from next month's Bonghwang High School Baseball Tournament, a significant event. This absence could adversely affect the prospects of Pai Chai seniors hoping to be selected in the upcoming draft for the Korea Baseball Organization.
In an effort to make amends, Pai Chai baseball players and their parents visited Gwangju Jeil in the city of Gwangju on Monday to apologize personally. Students from both schools also visited the May 18th National Cemetery to honor those who lost their lives during the pro-democracy uprising.
Last week, Pai Chai's alumni association appealed for leniency for the baseball team, a request echoed by Gwangju Jeil's faculty and alumni association on Tuesday.