Baseball players from Gwangju Ilgo and Baejai High School pay their respects at the National May 18 Democratic Cemetery in Buk-gu, Gwangju, on Monday. [Yonhap]
Baseball players from Gwangju Ilgo and Baejai High School pay their respects at the National May 18 Democratic Cemetery in Buk-gu, Gwangju, on Monday. [Yonhap]

May 18 pro-democracy movement organizations have called for leniency toward Baejai High School's baseball team, which drew public criticism and later apologized after players chanted a derogatory cheer targeting Gwangju.

Three May 18 statutory bodies — the Bereaved Families Association, the Wounded Persons Association and the Meritorious Persons Association — along with the May 18 Memorial Foundation issued a joint statement Thursday, saying "the spirit of May 18 lies in inclusion, not exclusion."

The groups said Baejai High's willingness to confront its past wrongdoing and seek to correct it was "proof that history is being embraced not as a record frozen in the past, but as a responsibility shared by all of us living today."

They added that while anyone can make mistakes, "only a mature citizen can reflect on those mistakes and move toward a better tomorrow."

The three May 18 statutory bodies and the May 18 Memorial Foundation hold a press conference Thursday outside the May 18 Memorial Culture Center in Seo-gu, Gwangju, calling for leniency toward Baejai High School students. [Yonhap]
The three May 18 statutory bodies and the May 18 Memorial Foundation hold a press conference Thursday outside the May 18 Memorial Culture Center in Seo-gu, Gwangju, calling for leniency toward Baejai High School students. [Yonhap]

The groups also appealed directly to the Korea Sports Council's Sports Fairness Committee for leniency.

They urged the committee to "fully consider the sincere reflection and willingness to change shown by Baejai High students, along with Gwangju Ilgo's own request for leniency," and to "make a wise decision that allows Baejai High to compete in the 54th Bonghwangdaegi National High School Baseball Tournament."

The controversy began June 29, when some Baejai High student athletes chanted derogatory cheers directed at the Gwangju Ilgo dugout during a game at Seoul's Mokdong Baseball Stadium, including phrases such as "Let's go, let's go, let's go to Starbucks" and "Tank Day" — widely seen as mocking the Gwangju region.

In response, the Korea Baseball Softball Association's Sports Fairness Committee voted to impose a six-month competition ban on Baejai High and to forfeit the team's remaining games in the Cheongnyonggi National High School Baseball Championship.

Baejai High subsequently sent a delegation of 86 people — including faculty, coaches, student athletes and parents — to Gwangju Ilgo, where they delivered a tearful apology. Gwangju Ilgo then appealed for the disciplinary measures against Baejai High to be eased.


choigo@heraldcorp.com