Late KBO heat cancellations leave baseball fans hot under the collar
Back-to-back heat wave game cancellations drew criticism as traveling fans faced unexpected expenses and questioned the league’s timing and notification standards.
Jamsil Baseball Stadium in southern Seoul is seen on June 30.YONHAP
Back-to-back KBO game cancellations during an extreme heat wave have left away fans frustrated after last-minute decisions forced them to absorb travel and lodging costs without seeing a game.
The cancellations were safety measures for players and fans, but many questioned why the decisions came only after heat wave warnings had already been in effect.
Sunday’s match between the Kia Tigers and the NC Dinos scheduled at NC Park in Changwon, South Gyeongsang, was canceled because of extreme heat. On the same day, another game between the Samsung Lions and the Lotte Giants at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan started 30 minutes later than scheduled. The two ballparks are about an hour's drive apart.
The decision followed daytime highs of 40.4 degrees Celsius (105 degrees Fahrenheit) in Changwon on Saturday and 39.5 degrees Celsius on Sunday. The NC Dinos also had their Saturday game canceled because of the extreme heat.
It marked the first time the league had called off games on consecutive days due to extreme heat since it adopted heat-related cancellation rules in 2019.
Fans who had already traveled to Changwon argued that the league should have made the decision sooner, given that the state weather agency had already issued a heat wave warning.
Under KBO rules, the league's game operations commissioner may cancel a game after consulting the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) if a heat wave warning is in effect or if daytime highs of at least 35 degrees Celsius are forecast to persist for more than two days before the game.
The rules, however, do not require games to be canceled under those conditions or set a deadline for notifying spectators.
Water is sprayed at spectators during a KBO match between the Kiwoom Heroes and the LG Twins at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in southern Seoul on July 29.YONHAP
The KBO also faced criticism over what some fans described as inconsistent standards after canceling the game in Changwon while allowing the Busan game to go ahead despite only a slight temperature difference.
"It was the right decision to cancel the game because heat-related illnesses can have serious long-term effects, but the league should have announced it much earlier, such as in the morning," a Tigers fan who traveled to Changwon said. "The apparent temperature can vary depending on the local terrain and the ballpark environment, so I also don't understand why the game in Busan went ahead based simply on the KMA's average forecast."
Away fans also criticized the league for announcing the cancellation only through social media without directly notifying ticket holders.
"I understand that player safety had to come first, but the Gyeongsang region had been under heat wave forecasts for days,” Han Eun-jeong, a baseball fan who spent more than 200,000 won ($140) on transportation and lodging to travel from Daejeon to Changwon, said.
The road temperature stands at 40.6 degrees Celsius (105.08 degrees Fahrenheit) in Changwon, South Gyeongsang, on July 31.YONHAP
“It would have been much better if the league had at least sent text messages to ticket holders. Older fans who don't use social media might not even have known why the game was canceled."
The extreme heat has caused damage to far more than the KBO schedule.
On Saturday, a fire burned through about 200 hectares (494 acres) of reed fields in Gimje, North Jeolla, an area roughly equivalent to 300 football pitches. On the same day, a fire also broke out at Samhwa Temple in Donghae, Gangwon. Six participants in a temple stay program evacuated.
The National Fire Agency has maintained a nationwide "caution" level fire risk alert since 2 p.m. on Tuesday. Such a level is the second-highest of the system's three alert levels.
In the “caution level,” the fire agency undertakes campaigns to prevent electrical fires, intensifies inspections of aging residential facilities and strengthens coordination with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, local governments and power authorities.
The prolonged heat wave has also continued to claim lives.
A total of 96 people suffered heat-related illnesses on Saturday, according to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters under the Interior Ministry on Sunday. On Monday morning, a man in his 40s died of heatstroke in Gyeyang District, Incheon.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
