Singer JK Kim Dong-wook backs Baejae High School amid 6-month baseball ban controversy

On July 2, singer JK Kim Dong-wook, 50, posted "The administration's term is shorter than your future. Baejae let's go" on SNS. The message came as Baejae High School's baseball team reeled from a 6-month competition ban handed down the day before.

The Korea Baseball Softball Association's Sports Arbitration Committee convened on July 1 to address an incident from June 29. During the 81st Cheongryonggi National High School Baseball Championship at Mokdong Baseball Stadium in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, some Baejae players shouted "gaya ji, gaya ji, Starbucks gaya ji" and "Tank Day" toward Gwangju Jeil High School's dugout. Baejae's tournament result was recorded as a forfeit loss. Individual players and coaches still face pending disciplinary action.

Baejae High School issued a formal apology: "We sincerely apologize for the hurt and disappointment caused to Gwangju Jeil High School's players, parents, alumni, Gwangju citizens, and many others."

Kim's response questioned the uproar. "Why are you making such a big deal out of a simple happening that kids showed during a baseball game?" He went further, suggesting that critics who stay silent on inflation, real estate, and exchange rates are "too transparent" while fixating on Baejae and the baseball association.

Actor Han Jung-soo offered a sharp counterargument, urging the public to "completely eliminate ilbe, which spreads distorted historical consciousness, contempt, and mockery culture to children, from this land."

Kim is a Korean-Canadian who emigrated during high school and holds Canadian citizenship. He has no domestic voting rights but regularly weighs in on Korean affairs. During the June 3 local election, he commented on a ballot shortage: "If I were president, I'd go straight into fraud verification and call for a re-election." His earlier posts calling critics "extreme-left trash sentiment" had already placed him at the center of this controversy before the Baejae post landed.