Prosecutors investigating allegations of match fixing in baseball said Saturday that a second active professional baseball pitcher partially admitted, during questioning, his involvement in match fixing.
LG Twins` Park Hyun-jun (Yonhap News)
Park Hyun-jun, a right-hander for the LG Twins in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), was grilled by prosecutors in Daegu, a metropolitan city some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, for eight hours on Friday. The 25-year-old player is under suspicion of accepting bribes in return for trying to fix baseball games at least twice last year, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors said they plan to indict him after further questioning as he admitted to a considerably large part of the charges against him.
Park had claimed innocence since his name first surfaced in the fast-spreading baseball fixing rumors last month. He led the Twins with 13 wins in 2011, accounting for nearly a quarter of the team's victories.
The government recently announced it will take a "zero-tolerance" approach against match fixing and toughened penalties for offending players, coaches and teams.
The ongoing investigation has dealt a major blow to the KBO, which has enjoyed an unprecedented wave of popularity in recent seasons. The 2012 season starts on April 7. (Yonhap News)
<관련 한글 기사>
“LG 박현준 승부조작 혐의 가담 인정”
프로야구 경기조작을 수사하고 있는 대구지검 강력부(조호경 부장검사)는 2일 소환해 조사한 LG 트윈스 투수 박현준 선수가 자신의 혐의 일부를 인정했다고 3일 밝혔다.
박 선수는 지난해 최소 2차례에 걸쳐 경기조작에 가담하고 1차례당 수백만원씩 의 사례금을 받아챙긴 것으로 전해졌다.
검찰은 박 선수가 자신의 혐의 상당 부분을 인정함에 따라 불구속 상태에서 수사를 계속한 뒤 기소할 예정이다.
앞서 박 선수는 지난 2일 피의자 신분으로 소환돼 8시간여 동안 조사를 받은 뒤 귀가했다. (연합뉴스)
