Former professional baseball Samsung Lions pitcher Yoon Sung-hwan was sentenced to prison for fraud and other charges.

According to a report by Yonhap News on the 10th, Director General Ahn Kyung-rok of the Daegu District Court sentenced Yoon Sung-hwan to 1 year and 6 months in prison for failing to repay money borrowed from acquaintances on time.

Yoon Sung-hwan was indicted for borrowing a total of 450 million won from four acquaintances without the intent to repay, despite having financial debts of 200 million won and tax delinquencies of 500 million won from March to October 2020 with no significant additional income.

Yoon Sung-hwan was also indicted for receiving 450 million won using a borrowed account in return for manipulating the outcome of a professional baseball game, violating the Act on the Regulation and Punishment of Criminal Proceeds.

Director General Ahn Kyung-rok noted, "There are indications that he used his status and reputation as a professional baseball player to borrow a large amount of money from the victims and that a significant portion was used for gambling, and the damage has not been properly recovered."

He also stated, "Some of the victims have been compensated, and he is reflecting on his wrongdoing while confessing to his crimes, which are taken into consideration for sentencing."

Meanwhile, after passing through Busan Sanggo and Dong-Eui University, Yoon Sung-hwan joined Samsung in 2004 and has participated in a total of 425 games in the first team, achieving 135 wins, 106 losses, 1 save, and 28 holds. His earned run average is 4.23.

He reached his first 10 wins in his debut year in 2008 and achieved double-digit wins 8 times in his career. In 2011, he topped the wins category with 14 wins and set a new personal record with 17 wins in a season in 2015.

Yoon Sung-hwan appeared in 5 games in 2020, suffering 2 losses without a win. His earned run average was 5.79. After the season, he was notified of his release by the team.

He signed a free agency contract with Samsung in November 2014 for an aggregate of 8 billion won over 4 years and completed a second free agency contract in January 2019 for up to 1 billion won for 1 year.

He thought he would walk only on paths of success, gaining wealth and fame, but his glamorous career became tainted by various incidents including fraud, illegal gambling, tax delinquencies, and match-fixing.

[OSEN = Son Chan-ik, Reporter]