Professional baseball star Choo Shin-soo (41, SSG Landers) is receiving strong backlash from fans after defending An Woo-jin (Kiwoom Heroes), who has a history of “school violence.” 안전놀이터
Choo Shin-soo, who currently lives at his home in Texas, USA, recently appeared on DKNET, a Korean radio station in the Dallas area, and revealed his thoughts on the formation of the Korean baseball team for the World Baseball Classic (WBC) and the story behind his victory at last year’s SSG.
Choo Shin-soo mentioned Japan, a rival with many new faces in international competitions, and said, “I had to give opportunities to young players such as Ahn Woo-jin and Moon Dong-ju (Hanwha Eagles) when I was selected for the WBC representative.”
Ahn Woo-jin was among the best pitchers in the KBO league, but he was not selected for the national team due to a history of bullying in high school.
Choo Shin-soo said, “Even though Ahn Woo-jin reflected on his mistakes and received a suspension and did everything, he cannot play for the national team. It seems that forgiveness is not easy in Korea.”
He also pointed out that seniors should step up for juniors, but no one is stepping up.
However, fans poured out comments of criticism and dissatisfaction.
Ahn Woo-jin asked for forgiveness from the fans, saying that he had reached an agreement with the victims and was sincerely reflecting, but he was not called to the national team because he could not conclude the matter. Some victims have been forgiven, but there are still unforgiven victims.
National team coach Lee Kang-cheol and the WBC technical committee excluded Ahn Woo-jin after careful consideration to completely rule out the possibility that the national team would be shaken by a problem outside of baseball. In particular, it was not easy for Ahn Woo-jin to get on the national team in a situation where the problem of ‘academic violence’ by famous sports stars continues.