B was originally known in the baseball world as the team leader of a large agency company C. He was known as a “madangbal” because of his wide network in the entertainment industry as well as the baseball industry. He was known to have been an operator of a celebrity baseball team until recently. He had influenced many big star players including Kim Ha-sung.
A baseball official who knew B well said, “My favorite star players were close to B, calling him or her. There were many players who trusted and followed him more than his brother,” adding, “He was very good at forming relationships with the players.”
However, the baseball community has constantly raised questions over his agency’s way of working as an agent. “It’s just that he was caught up in such a big incident, and similar incidents happened several times in the past,” a baseball source from the Korea Players Association said. “A few years ago, his star players secretly disposed of expensive gloves that he had received due to his Golden Glove injury, and it became a big problem.” At that time, the Korea Players Association punished him for a six-month suspension of his qualification. 스포츠토토사이트
After that, B left Company C and moved to Company A. The agent industry criticized B’s move to take several players he managed and moved to the company at once, saying that he “destroyed Sangdo,” and Company C also reportedly fiercely opposed it. Company A, which has recruited a large number of top-class players, quickly became a leading agency in Korea. Since then, as Kim Ha-sung entered the Major League through posting, Company A has become an agency with two active major leaguers, including Ryu Hyun-jin.
The problem arose after Kim Ha-sung entered the Major League. Police are looking into the possibility that B conspired with Lim Hye-dong, who worked as a road manager, to intimidate Kim Ha-sung. Lim Hye-dong received a total of 400 million won in settlement money in early 2021, saying he was assaulted by Kim Ha-sung at a bar in Gangnam, Seoul, of which tens of millions of won flowed to B.
Kim Ha-sung, who had been under special military service as a national baseball player at the time, was under pressure to cancel the special case and join the active duty if he was found to have violated the COVID-19 quarantine rules. The psychology that he did not want to be caught up in the gossip of San Diego in the U.S. Major League Baseball also served as a background for handing over a large settlement.
A baseball official said, “I hear that it was Mr. B who informed Lim Hye-dong of Kim Ha-sung’s ‘weakness’ and ordered it.” If these allegations are true, it means that he abused the information about the player he learned while working as an agent for intimidation and extortion.
It is also important to examine whether B was involved in Lim Hye-dong’s intimidation of Ryu Hyun-jin. B was in charge of management when Ryu was active in Korea. He followed Ryu everywhere he went like a shadow. A baseball official pointed out, “Right after Lim Hye-dong ripped Kim Ha-sung off the first 200 million won, Company A appointed him as Ryu’s road manager without dismissing him or sanctioning him. It is hard to understand in common sense.” Lim is known to have extorted more than 300 million won by threatening after filming a video of Ryu’s drinking spree.
The police initially summoned B as a reference and investigated him, but recently turned him into a suspect. B is said to have resigned from Company A in December, when the police investigation began. Kim Ha-sung, who received no protection from the agency despite Lim Hye-dong’s continued threats, eventually became independent from Company A in September last year and established a one-person agency with his family.
It seems necessary to investigate whether there are any additional victims other than Kim Ha-sung and Ryu Hyun-jin. An agent industry official said, “The players said that until just a few months ago, B was telling the players that ‘a big investment will come into the company soon’.” Another agent said, “There were a lot of backbites about the management of goods provided by the sponsor to the players and the relationship with a specific training center.”
If the charges filed so far turn out to be true, it will be difficult for B to maintain his agent qualification. Article 19 [Duties and Responsibilities of Player Agents] of the “KBO League Player Agents Regulations” states, “① A player’s agent must perform his duties with the duty of care of a good manager for the benefit of the player he is representing. ② A player’s agent must prioritize the interests of the player in case of a conflict between his or her interests and those of the player he is representing.” He made it clear that it is the agent’s duty to put the interests of the player first.
In addition, Article 21 [Other prohibited acts] also stated that “the player’s agent shall not engage in any act that may infringe the interests of the player or cause conflicts with the interests of the player,” and that “the player’s agent may request sanctions, including restrictions on the work of the player’s agent, and the player’s association may impose necessary sanctions on the player’s agent.”
A baseball official from the Players Association said, “B did not properly withdraw when he caused a problem in the past, which means that he returned to a bigger problem over time,” adding, “As the qualification test for an official agent is already entering its eighth year, the Players Association should more thoroughly filter out and sanction underqualified and unqualified agents.”
“After all, it is the players who suffer the damage if the agent in question is active,” another baseball source said. “Players should also join hands with agents who work honestly on the players’ side, rather than someone who takes good care of baseball equipment or someone who buys alcohol. I am worried that other agents who work hard for players will be treated as wholesale money due to this incident.”
