Gwangju school seeks leniency for players who mocked May 18 Democratization Movement

• ·Gwangju Jeil High School called Tuesday for leniency toward Paichai High School baseball players disciplined for mocking the 1980 Gwangju Democratization Movement, while urging the high school baseball community to confront how such ridicule was allowed to take place.
• ·The statement came a day after Paichai students visited Gwangju to apologize over the incident, which occurred during a June 29 high school baseball game between the two schools.
• ·At a press conference Tuesday, Gwangju Jeil officials and alumni representatives said the incident should be an opportunity to remove mockery and disparagement from high school baseball, rather than end simply with punishment.
• ·“We hope this will serve as an opportunity to eliminate mockery and disparagement from high school baseball fields, turning them into places of education where players respect one another and uphold fair play,” said principal Lee Kyu-yeon, calling it the school’s final official statement on the matter.
• ·“We also ask officials at the Korea Baseball Softball Association to exercise as much administrative leniency as possible so the students can make a fresh start, considering the spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation shown yesterday.” The KBSA suspended Paichai players from national tournaments for six months for chanting slogans mocking the 1980 Gwangju Democratization Movement during the game against Gwangju Jeil.

월드컵 등장한 현대차 아틀라스… 외신 “역사상 전례 없는 일”