KBO to Rule Today on Heroes Dispute
By Yoon Chul
Staff Reporter
The dispute between the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) and the Heroes over the team's payment of its franchise fee will be resolved Wednesday, the league said.
The KBO will discuss the issue at a committee meeting involving the league's general managers, which should determine how much of the Heroes' fee Seoul-based teams Doosan Bears and LG Twins, along with the Incheon-based SK Wyverns, will receive.
The Bears and Twins insist they should each receive 2.7 billion won in territorial rights fees while the Wyverns are demanding 6.3 billion won because the Hyundai Unicorns, the predecessor of the Heroes, used Suwon Stadium, which is within the Wyverns' territory.
The KBO has proposed that the three teams receive 2.7 billion won each for territorial rights but for each to donate 700 million won to the KBO's development fund.
General managers from the three teams have met and there are indications they may agree to the proposal.
The controversy was sparked when the Heroes attempted to trade outfielder Lee Taek-keun to the Twins in exchange for 2.5 billion won and one of two players. According to the league at that time, the Heroes had not officially paid the entire 12 billion won franchise fee it owed to the KBO, with 3.6 billion won still outstanding.
The league, therefore, did not approve the deal, saying the remaining funds must be paid before the Heroes can trade players for cash.
The Heroes argued that they had paid 1.5 billion won to each of the Seoul-based clubs directly and that they paid the remainder to the league before making the trade.
If the Twins, Bears and Wyverns agree to the KBO's proposal, and the Heroes pay the remainder of their dues, the league will then acknowledge that the team has paid its franchise fee in full and the matter would be closed.
However, a KBO official said it would still not approve the Heroes trade until the club submits an operational plan, because of worries that the team is experiencing deep financial difficulties.
But the Heroes say that if the league acknowledges that the fees have been paid, then the team would officially be a full member of the league, which would mean the KBO would have no right to make such a request before granting a trade.