The mother of the child who ultimately performed the bat-boy duties spoke out directly about actor Choi Hyun-wook's pitching controversy.
On the morning of the 11th, in a comment on a post on an online community that uploaded a video of Choi Hyun-wook's ceremonial pitch, the mother A, of the child who participated as the bat helper, recalled the situation, saying, "I am the mother of the child who did the bat-boy duties that day. I did it believing it would be carried out safely, but watching it now makes my stomach drop."
Earlier, Choi Hyun-wook took the mound as the ceremonial pitcher for game 1 of the KBO League wild-card series at Incheon SSG Landers Field on the 9th. He appeared in sunglasses and hip fashion and stood confidently on the mound, but the ball he threw hard surprised the venue when it missed the catcher's mitt. As the ball quickly headed toward the child fan who was preparing to return the ball, sighs of "that almost led to a major accident" erupted from the stands.
Some fans raised the criticism that "he did not apologize directly to the child," and the controversy spread.
In response, on the 10th Choi Hyun-wook posted an apology directly on a fan communication platform. He bowed his head and said, "I was really nervous about yesterday's ceremonial pitch, so the ball slipped. If I can contact the bat helper friend and their parents, I will apologize," and "when a young friend is standing there I should have thrown slowly from close by, but I didn't think of that. I'm truly sorry."
Despite Choi Hyun-wook's sincere apology, the controversy has not easily died down.
Some netizens voiced concerns, saying, "If a ceremonial pitch is an event, safety should be the top priority," and "from the perspective of the child returning the ball it could have been frightening," while others said, "It was just a mistake, excessive criticism is unfortunate."
Meanwhile, Choi Hyun-wook is known as an avid SSG Landers fan. He will appear next in the Netflix series "The Last Row Boy".
[Photo] OSEN DB
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