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Elementary school baseball coach in Gwangju gets jail time for bribes, beating players

Published: 25 Sep. 2025, 19:43

A baseball is seen with stacks of cash in this file photo. [GETTY IMAGES BANK]

A court sentenced an elementary school baseball coach in Gwangju to prison on Thursday for taking more than 80 million won ($57,000) in bribes from parents and physically abusing players.

The Gwangju District Court’s Criminal Division sentenced the coach to one year and six months in prison and ordered the payment of 58.95 million won in restitution. The court also took the coach into custody immediately after the ruling.

The court banned the coach from working in child-related institutions for five years and ordered them to complete 80 hours of a child abuse treatment program.

Prosecutors indicted the coach for receiving more than 80 million won between 2020 and 2021 from the parents of about 10 players in exchange for guaranteed playing time and assistance with school admissions.

The coach also struck elementary school athletes with bats and other blunt objects during training, prosecutors said.

The court said the coach's defense was not credible.

“The defendant’s claim that the money was distributed among coaches cannot be accepted,” the ruling stated. “No restitution to the victims has been made.”

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.
BY JANG GU-SEUL [[email protected]]