KBO cancels all games through Sunday as oppressive heat continues
The league announced that it will automatically suspend games when the highest-level heat alert is activated as part of safety measures.
A thermometer on the field at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Songpa District, southern Seoul, reads 50 degrees Celsius (122 degress Fahrenheit).
YONHAP
Korea's professional baseball league has canceled all games through Sunday to protect players and spectators from a sweltering heat wave, the KBO said Thursday.
The regular season will resume on Tuesday.
The decision came after the KBO held an emergency meeting with general managers from all 10 clubs earlier in the day, in which all agreed to implement a "heat wave break" by calling off the entire weekend three-game series.
The decision follows growing calls for stronger heat safety measures after a spectator collapsed from a suspected heat-related illness at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on Tuesday.
During the weekend break, each club plans to review and prepare its heat safety protocols.
As part of a broader long-term response, the KBO decided to adopt a policy of canceling games whenever the state weather agency issues the highest-level emergency heat wave warning.
Under lower-level heat advisories or warnings, officials will measure the on-site apparent temperatures three hours before the first pitch to decide whether to play.
The KBO also pushed back the start time for games, including weekend matches, to 7 p.m for the time being. Games had previously started at 6:30 p.m. on weekdays and 6 p.m. on weekends.
The only exception will be games at Seoul's indoor Gocheok Sky Dome, which will continue to start at 7 p.m. on weekdays and 6 p.m. on Saturdays. Sunday games there may begin at 2 p.m., depending on the television broadcast schedule.
In addition, the league plans to expand cooling breaks. Instead of the previous single break after the fifth inning, cooling breaks will now be held after the third, fifth and seventh innings.
Earlier, as the extreme heat showed little sign of easing, the organization had already canceled all KBO League and second-division Futures League games scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.
BY CHO MUN-GYU [[email protected]]
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.
