Gwangju Jeil High School (Gwangju Ilgo) will submit an official letter of protest to the Korea Baseball Softball Association over Paejae High School's taunt, "We should go to Starbucks," during the Cheongryonggi national high school baseball championship.

During the Paejae High School vs. Gwangju Jeil High School game at the Cheongryonggi National High School Baseball Championship on the 29th, Paejae players dance in the dugout to a cheer that includes the chant "Let's go to Starbucks." /Courtesy of News1

According to Gwangju Ilgo and others on the 30th, Principal Lee Gyu-yeon of Gwangju Ilgo plans to visit the Korea Baseball Softball Association in Bangi-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, on Tuesday morning to deliver a letter of protest.

The letter states that it strongly condemns the conduct of Paejae High School's baseball team for flagrantly violating sportsmanship, the essence of high school sports, and for disparaging and mocking a specific region.

It also calls for a thorough fact-finding into the incident, stern disciplinary action against those involved, and measures to prevent a recurrence so that such incidents do not happen again on the high school baseball stage.

The controversy arose from the chant "We should go to Starbucks" during the first-round game between Paejae High School and Gwangju Ilgo at Mokdong Baseball Stadium in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, on the 29th, which served as both the Cheongryonggi national high school baseball championship and the weekend league championship.

Late in the game, as Paejae widened the lead and seized the momentum, players in the dugout repeatedly shouted the chant, "We should go, we should go—Starbucks (Seubeok), we should go."

The chant evoked last month's Starbucks "May 18 tank day" controversy and was interpreted as a taunt with the purpose of mockery, prompting criticism of "regional disparagement." After receiving a protest, the umpires also warned Paejae.

However, as the game broadcast clip containing the scene spread quickly on online communities and social media (SNS), fierce criticism poured in among baseball fans.

Principal Lee Gyu-yeon said, "This incident goes beyond simple overenthusiastic cheering and is a serious matter that damaged students' sound sporting spirit," adding, "The association must immediately conduct a fact-finding investigation and put in place measures to prevent a recurrence."

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