Baseball body offers special pardon to suspended player

SEOUL, June 12 (Yonhap) -- A star baseball player who was suspended indefinitely
for assaulting a security guard and police officer in 2008 while under the
influence of alcohol has been granted a special pardon, the country's baseball
governing body said Friday.

Jung Soo-keun, 32, formerly an outfielder with the Busan-based Lotte Giants led
by former Major League manager Jerry Royster, was expelled in July last year
after being arrested on charges of beating up an apartment guard and hitting an
officer. He was later fined 7 million won (US$5,600) by a Busan court.
At the time, the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) decided to suspend the
two-time Golden Glove winner indefinitely, the first such decision in its 28-year
history.
Jung was also convicted of swinging a bat at tourists in a Busan beach in 2004,
for which he was fined 5 million won and suspended for 20 games.
The disciplinary committee of the KBO said Jung will be allowed to come back to
the field starting on July 28, the beginning of the second half of the season,
responding to a request by the Giants. The team is now ranked fifth in the
eight-club pro baseball league.
brk@yna.co.kr
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