Paichai High School's suspension for allegedly mocking pro-democracy movement reduced to one month
The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) cut the six-month suspension to one month after considering Paichai's apology to Gwangju Jeil High School and the latter's request for tolerance as mitigating factors.
Paichai High School in Gangdong District, eastern Seoul, on June 19NEWS1
Paichai High School’s baseball team, which has been punished after players allegedly mocked the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement, will be able to resume activities next month after Korea’s national sports governing body cut its six-month suspension to one month on Monday.
The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) said that its sports fairness committee decided to reduce Paichai High School’s penalty at its 19th meeting at Olympic Hall in Songpa District, southern Seoul.
The panel upheld that Paichai’s chants disrupted the game but acknowledged its apology and Gwangju Jeil High School’s request for tolerance as mitigating factors.
“The inappropriate chants […] amount to interference with play, so there are sufficient grounds for disciplinary action,” the committee said. “However, we made this decision after considering that Paichai students traveled to Gwangju to ask [Gwangju Jeil] for forgiveness, and that […] the school targeted by the chants also appealed for tolerance.”
The KSOC is the final appeals body for disciplinary action taken by member organizations. Its ruling took effect immediately after approval.
The reduced suspension allows Paichai to participate in the Bonghwang High School Baseball Tournament, which will open on Aug. 6 and be this year’s final national high school baseball tournament.
Paichai players repeatedly chanted “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go to Starbucks” and similar lines toward the Gwangju Jeil dugout during a first-round game in the Blue Dragon Flag National High School Baseball Championship on June 29.
The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee holds a rehearing for Paichai High School at Olympic Hall in Songpa District, southern Seoul, on July 20.YONHAP
The May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement was a 1980 pro-democracy uprising against military rule that was violently suppressed by martial law troops. Starbucks Korea drew criticism in May for a “Tank Day” promotion that used wording seen as trivializing the movement. Paichai’s chants were interpreted as alluding to the controversy to taunt Gwangju Jeil.
On July 1, the Korea Baseball Softball Association suspended Paichai from national tournaments for six months.
Paichai visited Gwangju Jeil on July 6 and read an apology on behalf of the players and staff. The school then asked the KSOC to review the penalty, and Gwangju Jeil also publicly called for the committee to reconsider the punishment.
Lee Young-jin, a former Constitutional Court justice and KSOC chair, emphasized that the players are students as well as athletes.
“We took into account that student athletes are still learning and found the initial six-month suspension excessive,” Lee said.
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.
