Ex-pro baseball player arrested for administering steroids to teen players

By Bahk Eun-ji

A former professional baseball player has been arrested over allegedly selling and administering steroids, a banned performance-enhancing drug, to teenage players at his private baseball academy, health authorities said Wednesday.

According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Lee Yeo-sang, 35, was arrested the previous day for violating the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, while two of the young players tested positive for the banned substance.

Former pro baseball player Lee Yeo-sang has been arrested over allegedly selling and administering anabolic steroids to teenage players at his private baseball academy, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said Wednesday. /Korea Times file

Lee allegedly administered anabolic steroids and testosterone to seven teen players after obtaining the substances, which the ministry suspects were smuggled and illegally circulated here. Lee is suspected of injecting the teenagers with the drugs in the academy's shower room.

He allegedly told the teens and their parents that the drugs were nutritional supplements such as protein or restorative drugs, saying they would boost the players' performances and help them gain admission to universities or professional teams.

The ministry said Lee charged 2 to 3 million won for one steroid shot, injecting it once every one or two months. But the drug is usually sold at about 100,000 to 200,000 won for one syringe on the black market, the ministry said.

The ministry seized the steroid medications and hormonal supplements from Lee's house and the baseball academy facility, as well as records detailing players who had received injections and the time and dosage of each shot.

The drug ministry requested a doping test of seven teen players. Two tested positive, with tests ongoing for the remaining five. Players who test positive for performance-enhancing drugs are given four-year suspensions.

Anabolic steroids are synthetic variations of the male hormone, testosterone, which promotes intracellular protein to prompt the growth of cell tissues and muscles. The drug helps with building muscle, prolonging endurance and enhancing performance, but it can also cause various side effects, some of which are life threatening. The side effects include delaying puberty in adolescent boys, infertility, hypothyroidism, peliosis hepatitis and heart attack.

Lee began his career with the Samsung Lions in 2007 before transferring to the Hanwha Eagles in 2008, and moving to the Lotte Giants in 2015. After retiring in 2017, he has been working as a coach at his own private baseball academy in Seoul.

When caught during the ministry's crackdown on drug abuse, Lee initially denied the allegations by saying he bought the drugs for his own use. The ministry will expand the investigation into how he obtained the banned drugs, and plan to announce the results of the investigation next month.