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| ▲ Lee Young-ha, a pitcher of the Doosan Bears, attends his sentencing hearing at the Seoul Western District Court in the capital on May 31, 2023. (Yonhap) |
(LEAD) court-baseball player
(LEAD) Pro baseball player Lee Young-ha acquitted of assault charges against former teammate
(ATTN: ADDS details in paras 2, 6-7, 10-11)
SEOUL, May 31 (Yonhap) -- Pro baseball player Lee Young-ha was acquitted Wednesday of charges of violence against a junior teammate during his high school baseball days.
Lee, 25, a pitcher of the Doosan Bears, was indicted without detention last August over allegations that he had beaten a teammate while attending Sunrin Internet High School in Seoul.
Judge Chung Geum-young of the Seoul Western District Court found Lee not guilty, citing a lack of evidence to support the charges.
The judge determined that the alleged victim's statement contradicted objective evidence and the testimonies of other teammates.
Lee was charged with assault, along with Kim Dae-hyun, a pitcher for the LG Twins. Kim has been acquitted by a military court.
The ex-teammate alleged Lee had abused him in various locations within the country during late August and early September of 2015.
However, the judge acknowledged it was verified that Lee was in Japan during that period to compete in the U-18 Baseball World Cup championship.
The alleged victim first made claims in February 2021 that Lee and Kim had physically assaulted younger players at the school and that he had skipped some practices due to their abuse.
Both players have denied those charges. Lee acknowledged he occasionally addressed the entire team to maintain discipline but denied singling out a particular player for abuse.
The Bears and the Twins met with Sunrin school officials in 2021, but they were unable to confirm the assault charges.
The former teammate then took the case to the state-run Sports Ethics Center, which then asked police to investigate those assault claims.
Following his indictment, Lee was removed from the Bears' active roster last August, and he has not even pitched in the minor league since.
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