'Drunk Driving Accident' Yongkyu Lee Announces Disgraced Retirement: "Deep Remorse"

Kiwoom Club Accepts Yongkyu Lee's Retirement Decision

Yongkyu Lee, the Kiwoom Heroes player-coach who was involved in a drunk driving accident, has expressed "deep remorse" and announced his intention to retire.

Coach Lee Yongkyu. Kiwoom Heroes official website

On June 12, the Kiwoom Heroes released a statement, explaining, "Coach Yongkyu Lee has expressed a profound sense of responsibility and his intention to end his professional career, and the club has accepted his decision."

The club added, "Coach Lee is deeply reflecting on his wrongdoing without making any excuses regarding the incident," and continued, "He also conveyed his intention to fully cooperate with the relevant authorities during their investigation."

They further stated, "He expressed his apologies to the victims of the accident and pledged to take all necessary responsibility to make amends for the damages."

Additionally, the club bowed their heads and said, "We sincerely apologize to our fans and league officials for failing to prevent this drunk driving accident by a member of our organization in advance."

At approximately 6:25 a.m. on this day, Coach Lee, while under the influence of alcohol, crashed his car into another vehicle that was making a U-turn on a six-lane road in Acheondong, Guri, Gyeonggi Province.

According to the police investigation, Coach Lee drove straight through a red light and collided with a car that was making a U-turn after receiving a green arrow signal from the opposite direction.

Following the initial impact, Coach Lee's vehicle then struck the rear of a patrol car that was parked on the shoulder before coming to a stop.

It was reported that Coach Lee's blood alcohol concentration measured immediately after the accident was at a level warranting license cancellation. The Guri Police Station in Gyeonggi Province booked him without detention on charges of drunk driving under the Road Traffic Act and related offenses.

Player-coach Yongkyu Lee made his KBO debut in 2004 with the LG Twins, later playing for the KIA Tigers and Hanwha Eagles before moving to Kiwoom in 2021. He appeared in 2,035 KBO League games, recording a .295 batting average and 2,140 hits, establishing himself as one of the league's premier contact hitters. He also represented the national team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC). He was appointed player-coach in April last year and, last month, took on the dual role of player and first-team hitting coach.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.