Kim Ha-seong (San Diego Padres), who became the first Korean player to win the Gold Glove in this year’s American professional baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) and made a golden comeback, then entered into a legal battle with a junior baseball player, revealed his position through his legal representative.
On the 8th, Law Firm Choi Sun, the legal representative of Ha-seong Kim, said on the 8th, “The opposing player threatened Ha-seong Kim in 2021 by taking advantage of his military status and demanded money in the name of a settlement, and Ha-seong Kim refrained from contacting him directly or indirectly or engaging in any unfavorable actions. “The money was paid with conditions,” he disclosed. 2021 is the first year that Ha-seong Kim enters the U.S. Major League. 안전놀이터
Ha-seong Kim, who won a gold medal with the Korean national baseball team at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang, entered the training center as an art and physical education agent in December of that year. As long as arts and physical education personnel receive basic military training, they can engage in their original occupation for 2 years and 10 months and be recognized for alternative service. If he gets into legal trouble during this time, he may have to return to active duty.
Law Firm Choi Seon said, “Nevertheless, the opposing player violated the agreement by contacting Ha-seong Kim again. Accordingly, Kim Ha-seong filed a criminal complaint to prevent further damage,” he said. “Separately, civil lawsuits and provisional seizures due to violation of the agreement are in progress.” He also emphasized, “It is not true at all that Kim Ha-seong unilaterally and habitually assaulted the opposing player.”
The person known as a ‘junior player’ is Lim Hye-dong, a former professional baseball player who joined the Nexen (now Kiwoom) Heroes as a pitcher in 2015. Ha-seong Kim joined Nexen in 2014, and Hye-dong Lim joined the team a year later in 2015.
Lim Hye-dong joined after being drafted in the 8th round of the second round, and in 2015, his first year as a professional, he pitched in 7 games in the Futures (2nd team) league, losing 1 and recording an ERA of 10.45. In 2016, she did not even appear in a second-team match, and eventually failed to debut in the first-team and left the team at the end of that year.
It is known that Lim Hye-dong maintained a personal relationship with several Kiwoom players, including Kim Ha-seong, even after being released from the club. When it became known that Kim Ha-seong filed a complaint to the police on the 7th, saying that he had been blackmailed and threatened by a junior player, Lim Hye-dong claimed in several broadcast interviews, “I was consistently and one-sidedly assaulted by Kim Ha-seong.”
In response to this, Choi Law Firm said, “If the claims are true, submit a formal complaint. Ha-seong Kim responded by saying, “I will sincerely declare my innocence, and I will thoroughly hold you accountable for false accusations.” He also added, “We will file additional charges for reporting false facts and fabricated evidence photos to the media.”
Meanwhile, Ha-seong Kim did not attend the Ilgu Award ceremony scheduled for that day. Ilguhoe, a professional baseball OB group association, was scheduled to award Kim Ha-seong a ‘Special Achievement Award’ at the ‘2023 Nutr D Day Ilgu Award Ceremony’ at Hotel Riviera in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, but said, “It is unfortunate that I could not attend the meaningful event given by Ilguhoe seniors. He only expressed his feelings in advance by saying, “I’m sorry and I’m grateful.”