A former national team pitcher has been implicated in a widening match-fixing scandal in South Korean baseball, sources said Wednesday.
According to sources, the Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency will summon the pitcher, currently in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), for his alleged involvement in match-fixing schemes. The name of the pitcher is being withheld, but he previously represented the country internationally and is among the top 20 in wins this season.
The pitcher will be the fourth KBO player to come under investigation for match-fixing this month after Lee Tae-yang of the NC Dinos, outfielder Moon Woo-ram, who plays for the military club Sangmu in the Futures League, the KBO's minor league, and Yoo Chang-sik of the Kia Tigers.
The police suspect that this pitcher had deliberately walked a batter in a game around the same time as Yoo, who told police this week he'd fixed two games in April 2014. Yoo was then pitching for another club, the Hanwha Eagles.
Last week, Changwon prosecutors indicted Lee without physical detention for allegedly taking cash in exchange for issuing walks in games last season. Moon, who's under contract with the KBOs' Nexen Heroes but is doing his mandatory military service in the minors, is set for military prosecution.
All three players are currently banned by the KBO from engaging in any baseball-related activities.
The KBO recently formed a special investigation team to review 1,950 games from 2012 to July 24, 2016, in which walks were issued in the first inning, to determine whether they were fixed. (Yonhap)