Funeral wreaths bearing messages such as "Paichai High School has forgotten history" are placed outside Paichai High School's main gate in Gangdong District, eastern Seoul, on July 1.KIM MIN-SANG
Paichai High School has been handed a six-month ban in baseball, ending its run in the national high school tournament over a controversial chant mocking Gwangju Jeil High School and the city of Gwangju.
The ban will start on Thursday, the Korea Baseball Softball Association (KBSA) decided through an emergency sports fairness committee meeting on Wednesday.
Paichai will be disqualified from the ongoing 81st Blue Dragon Championship, one of Korea’s most prestigious high school baseball tournaments. The team was set for a second-round game against Suncheon Hyocheon High School on Thursday.
The association said the ban was imposed because players disrupted the game, with the final decision made after reviewing relevant regulations, including those of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee.
The controversy arose during the first-round game between Paichai of Seoul and Gwangju Jeil High School at the Blue Dragon Championship at Mokdong Baseball Stadium in Yangcheon District, western Seoul, on Monday.
During the game, Paichai players repeatedly chanted, "Let's go, let's go, let's go to Starbucks!” One player also shouted, "Tank Day."
The chant alluded to Starbucks Korea's controversial "Tank Day" promotion that ran in May. The now-suspended ad campaign drew widespread criticism for seemingly mocking the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement in 1980, where civilians and protesters demanding democracy were violently suppressed by the military.
Paichai High School's baseball players stand in the dugout during a game against Gwangju Jeil High School on June 29.SCREEN CAPTURE
The players claimed the chant began after one student replaced the original cheer, "Let's go, let's go, let's hit a home run," with "Starbucks," and the others joined in spontaneously, according to the Seoul school’s internal investigation.
While the team as a whole will not be able to play in national competitions for six months, the KBSA has delayed disciplinary action against individual players and coaches.
"Separate from the disciplinary action against the team, we concluded that penalties against the coaches and players require careful deliberation," the association said. "During the suspension period, we will conduct a thorough investigation to identify those responsible before reconvening the sports fairness committee meeting to deliberate on disciplinary measures."
Paichai's attempt to apologize in person was put on hold after the Gwangju school said its students were not yet ready to accept the apology.
“Paichai High School faculty members, baseball players and their parents informed Gwangju Jeil High School that they wished to visit the school in person to offer a sincere apology,” the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said Wednesday.
Gwangju Jeil, however, asked the Seoul high school to postpone the visit, according to the education office. The Gwangju school said, "Today is the first day of exams, and our students are not yet emotionally ready to accept an apology. We ask that today's visit be reconsidered.”
An official from the Seoul education office said the psychological well-being of Gwangju Jeil students would be a top priority.
Lee Kyu-yeon, the principal of Gwangju Jeil High School, right, hands over a letter of protest at the Korea Baseball Softball Association office in Songpa District, southern Seoul, on June 30.YONHAP
"Paichai High School remains committed to visiting the school and apologizing in person at any time, but no specific date has been set," the official said.
On Wednesday, three funeral wreaths bearing messages such as "Paichai High School has forgotten history" and "You don't deserve democracy" had been placed outside the school's main gate in eastern Seoul's Gangdong District.
The incident has also raised broader concerns over the prevalence of regional slurs in high school baseball.
Social media users claimed that during the semifinals of the 80th Golden Lion Championship, another high school baseball tournament, on May 14, a player from Choongam High School in Seoul referred to Gwangju Jeil High School students as "the cradle of insurrection."
The phrase appeared to reference the characterization of the Gwangju uprising as an act of insurrection rather than a pro-democracy uprising.
While delivering a letter of protest to the KBSA on Tuesday, Lee Kyu-yeon, the principal of Gwangju Jeil, suggested that the incident was not an isolated case.
"It's difficult to say there have never been instances of profanity or derogatory remarks targeting our region when we play schools from the Seoul metropolitan area,” Lee said.
Education Minister Choi Kyo-jin also addressed the controversy in a Facebook post Wednesday.
"When students, who should be learning love, solidarity, respect and consideration, casually use the language of hatred, ridicule and discrimination, adults — including those in leadership positions — bear a significant share of the responsibility," Choi wrote.
"Education is not simply about passing on knowledge and skills. It is a continuous process of helping students understand the manners and attitudes expected of them as members of society."
Choi added that the Ministry of Education would use the incident as an opportunity to ensure that student athletes and school sports teams develop a deeper understanding of fairness — one of the core values of sports — and grow into athletes who compete with integrity.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
