LG Twins pitcher returns home to face questioning over match fixing

An LG Twins pitcher returned home from Japan on Wednesday to face questioning at a prosecutors' office over his alleged involvement in match fixing scandal, an official said.

Park Hyun-jun is scheduled to voluntarily report to the prosecutors' office on Friday, the team official said.

Prosecutors in Daegu plan to grill the ace pitcher over allegations that he was involved in match fixing in the country's most popular professional sport. Daegu is a major city in Korea, located some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

Park, who had been training in the Japanese southern island of Okinawa, has reportedly denied the allegations.

The LG Twins will "calmly await" the outcome of the investigation, the official said. He asked not to be identified, citing the sensitive nature of the issue.

The Seoul-based professional baseball club belongs to LG Group, one of the nation's top conglomerates.

Park's return came hours before prosecutors were to decide whether to seek a warrant to formally arrest another LG Twins pitcher, Kim Seong-hyun, who was detained on Tuesday on similar allegations.

The widening investigation comes days after prosecutors questioned 15 former and active volleyball players about their alleged roles in rigging matches in exchange for cash from gambling brokers.

Korea has recently announced it will take a "zero-tolerance" approach to match fixing and toughened penalties for offending parties.

Under a recently revised law, players or coaches who take part in fixing schemes could be sentenced to up to five years in prison or pay up to 50 million won ($44,400) in fines. Their teams will also face expulsion from their leagues.

Last year, the K-League, Korea's first-division football league, was rocked by a match-fixing controversy. Dozens of active and former players were indicted and found guilty. (Yonhap)