The Paejae High School baseball team, which caused controversy at the Cheongryonggi National High School Baseball Championship with the chant "Let's go to Starbucks," was suspended from national tournaments for six months.
On the 1st, the Korea Baseball Softball Association convened a Sports Fairness Committee meeting at Olympic Parktel in Bangi-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, and decided that the incident "ran counter to the spirit of sports and disrupted order at the stadium."
Association public relations committee member Lee Junseong said, "The six-month suspension takes effect from the second round of the Cheongryonggi high school baseball tournament tomorrow (on the 2nd), in which Paejae High School is scheduled to play," and explained, "Paejae High School's result will be recorded as a forfeit loss."
Five of the seven fairness committee members attended the meeting, and four took part in the deliberation and vote. The managers of Paejae High School and Gwangju Jeil High School, who were at the center of the controversy, as well as the umpires from the game, also attended and gave their accounts.
Separately from the team sanction, the association determined that disciplinary action against the coaches and players requires careful consideration, and will conduct an investigation during the suspension period to identify those involved and reconvene the fairness committee.
Because the scene of the chant was broadcast, the association expects no difficulty identifying those involved. In addition to discipline, it will pursue institutional improvements to root out inappropriate cheering culture and prevent a recurrence.
Starting with all tournaments held from today, the association will require pregame notification during the managers' home plate meeting that inappropriate cheering is prohibited.
If similar behavior occurs, it will introduce tougher penalty standards to ensure a stricter response, and, in consultation with relevant agencies, implement education to foster proper historical awareness and social sensitivity among coaches and student-athletes.
On the 29th at Mokdong Baseball Stadium in Seoul, during the first round against Gwangju Il High School, Paejae High School repeatedly chanted, "Let's go, let's go, let's go to Starbucks," while leading 6-2 late in the game.
Gwangju Il High School protested, saying, "Why are you going to Starbucks? We've been holding back for a while," and the umpiring crew also warned Paejae High School. But the broadcast clip of the game spread online, drawing a flood of criticism as "regional disparagement."
Paejae High School immediately issued an apology, and its faculty, students and parents have expressed their intention to visit Gwangju Il High School to apologize. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education is conducting a separate investigation.