Paichai baseball team to visit Gwangju Jeil to apologize on Monday
Players from the Seoul school will travel to the southwestern city to express their apologies over chants deemed derogatory toward the democratization movement.
Paichai High School in Gangdong District, eastern SeoulNEWS1
Paichai High School students who chanted remarks seen as mocking the Gwangju Democratization Movement during a baseball game against Gwangju Jeil High School said they will visit the school on Monday to apologize in person, before going to the National May 18th Democratic Cemetery, which honors victims of the 1980 military crackdown on the movement.
Thirty-six members of the baseball team from the school in Gangdong District, eastern Seoul, will visit Gwangju Jeil at 3 p.m. to apologize to the students and coaches there, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said in a press conference Friday. Some 50 others, including parents, teachers, coaches and superintendents, are expected to join.
On Monday, a Paichai player shouted "Let's go to Starbucks!" during the team's match against Gwangju Jeil at the National High School Baseball Championship, and teammates joined in. One student shouted, "Tank Day!"
The chants drew suspicion of regional bias after they were linked to a recent controversy over a Starbucks Korea promotion that offered discounted tumblers under the name "Tank Day" that started the same day as the anniversary of the May 18 Democratization Movement, which led to a national boycott of the cafe chain.
Funeral wreaths, and one expressing support for the students, are placed outside Paichai High School in Gangdong District, eastern Seoul, on July 1.YONHAP
Paichai had earlier conveyed its intention to visit and apologize through the Seoul education office on Wednesday. At the time, Gwangju Jeil asked that the visit be reconsidered, citing an ongoing exam period and the need for students' mental well-being. The school later agreed to accept the apology, saying the Paichai players needed an opportunity to reflect on their wrongdoing and make a fresh start, and the two schools coordinated on scheduling.
Paichai has also decided to refer the two students who led the chants to its disciplinary committee, and is reviewing whether to refer additional students who joined in. Whether to discipline the coaching staff will be discussed at a later date, taking into consideration the fact that the coaches did not hear the chant and apologized immediately after the game upon becoming aware of it.
The education office conducted an emergency inspection of Paichai on Tuesday, immediately after the incident came to light, and sent a notice to elementary, middle and high school athletic teams across Seoul urging them to avoid hate speech and discriminatory language during competitions.
Baseball players from Paichai High School look on from the dugout during the 81st Blue Dragon Flag National High School Baseball Championship at Mokdong Baseball Stadium in western Seoul on June 29.SCREEN CAPTURE
The office plans to support history, human rights and antidiscrimination education for all Paichai students starting Wednesday, with the specific curriculum still under discussion between the school and relevant education office departments.
As of Friday morning, the office had received about 950 complaints related to the incident. A Seoul education office official overseeing physical, health and arts education said at the briefing, "The student athletes are genuinely remorseful, but there is also anxiety that they may no longer be able to play baseball, which they have devoted their lives to," adding, "We hope this will be an opportunity for the students to reflect sincerely and grow."
The Korea Baseball Softball Association also handed Paichai a six-month suspension from national tournaments.
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.
