Why did the LG Twins mistake it for not being able to conduct medical tests before signing a free agent (FA) contract? “Ham Deok-ju underwent pin fixation on the left main leg at Sejong Sports Orthopedic Surgery for microfracture of the left elbow,” the LG Twins reported on Jan. 16. The estimated rehabilitation period is six months. Ham is on the operating table just 25 days after signing a four-year FA contract with LG on Dec. 22 last year for up to 3.8 billion won.
During the back briefing, LG explained that they found the injury during the medical test, not before the FA contract. Furthermore, LG’s public relations team misrepresented that “a medical test cannot be requested to a FA player before signing a contract,” adding to the confusion. Fans who heard the news complained that they hid the injury and signed the contract, and that it was unreasonable not to have the right to require a pre-contract physical examination. Some even called for the creation of the Ham Deok-ju law. 토토사이트 추천
As the controversy grew, KBO explained, “FA also has a basis for requiring medical checks before signing the contract.” In fact, Article 11 [Health Examination] of the “Baseball Player Contract” states that “the player shall disclose that there are no physical or mental defects harmful to the participation activities, and he/she agrees to submit a health certificate if requested by the club. In addition, the club may require a physical examination at the hospital designated by the club before the contract, and the contract may be invalidated even if physical or mental defects are found after a physical examination or if the player refuses to submit a health certificate.”
Article 24 [Cancellation of Contract] stipulates that “the club may terminate this contract immediately with the approval of the president” if “a physical examination under Article 11 finds a serious physical or mental defect that may interfere with the player’s participation activities or refuses to submit the results of the physical examination. This is stated in the contract as it is, so the contract manager and the player must be aware of it.
Then did LG skip the medical check without knowing the reason or did they skip it even though they knew about it? “It is true that there is a clause in the contract, but the requirement for a physical examination before signing a contract is actually more like a ‘dead law,'” another team leader said. “As far as this winter, there has been no case of having a medical check before signing an FA contract.”
“There is a possibility that the player will oppose it, and it is difficult for the club to strongly demand it, so it has become a practice for the FA not to conduct a physical examination in advance. As this practice has come down for a long time, the LG club must have misunderstood that “FA cannot do medical treatment in advance.”