Baseball fans bash security guards

(In circle) Spectators and security guards clash at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Thursday. / Screen capture from YouTube

By Ko Dong-hwan

Angry fans of a losing Korean professional baseball team have attacked stadium security guards.

The incident occurred on Thursday at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, where the KIA Tigers from the Korean Baseball Organization played an away match against the LG Twins.

The security guards were tipped off before the match’s start that several spectators in seats reserved for the Tigers’ cheer squad did not have wristband admission passes. The guards discovered that the team’s drummer -- a person who uses a traditional one-barrel drum in cheering -- secretly brought three friends into the stadium.

The guards could see that the three were not wearing wristbands or the cheer squad uniform. They waited until the end of the seventh inning before approaching the trio and ordering them to leave.

The Tigers were losing 1-9 at the time and cheer squad members vented their anger toward the guards and attempted to stop them ejecting the three. The scuffle intensified as other Tigers’ fans joined in. YouTube videos show the clash, in which a man hits a guard’s head with a basket.

And one of the guards, in his early 20s, had his head cut by a cheer squad prop that was thrown at him.

The Tigers said Saturday they had sacked the cheer squad’s leader, holding him responsible for the incident. The KBO has asked the Tigers and the Twins for a report on the incident.

“Korean professional baseball games are looking to draw over 8 million people this season, having settled as one of the most popular regular sports events,” online daily Dailian said. “Fans must behave themselves in accompanying the Tigers’ catchphrase, ‘Always KIA Tigers.’ It does not necessarily apply to the Tigers’ fans only.”

Some criticized the Tigers, questioning whether sacking the cheer squad leader is way of ignoring the KBO’s chronic problem of spectator clashes during matches.