KBO Club Samsung Lions Admits To Paying Umpire Before Championship Game

Korea Baseball Organization club Samsung Lions on Tuesday "admitted to paying an umpire only a day before winning a league title four years ago," according to YONHAP. The team said that a senior club employee wired 4M won to the umpire, surnamed Choi, in Oct. '13 after Choi had "contacted the employee for some quick cash." The employee has since "left the Lions," and Choi retired in '14. Financial transactions of "any kind between umpires and club employees are strictly prohibited." The club "apologized for the incident" and said that it was not "aware of the employee's misdeed last year, when the KBO conducted its own investigation into the matter." The former Samsung official told prosecutors that he had "known Choi for a while" and he lent him 4M won as a friend. Samsung is "fourth among 10 KBO clubs to be embroiled in the snowballing scandal surrounding Choi, who allegedly called or texted officials from multiple clubs for cash" (YONHAP, 8/30).