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professional baseball Lotte pitcher Seo Jun-won has been accused of committing sexual crimes against minors, causing a lot of shock. The Lotte club immediately terminated Seo Jun-won and issued an official apology.

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The 23-year-old joined Lotte as a first-round pick in 2018 and has been in the spotlight as a candidate for starting pitcher this season.

Prosecutors say Seo is accused of producing child and adolescent sexual exploitation material by having him take and send body photos to an underage victim he knew online in August last year.

The prosecutor's office, which has been investigating since December last year, requested an arrest warrant last week considering the seriousness of the case, but the court rejected the warrant because there was no flight risk, so Seo Jun-won was investigated without arrest.

Seo Jun-won reportedly admitted to the crime during the prosecution's investigation and the substantive examination of the warrant.

The prosecution charged Seo Jun-won with non-custody yesterday (1rd).

Seo Jun-won, who participated in overseas Spring Training without notifying the Lotte club and also played in exhibition games, notified the club yesterday, and the club apologized to the fans for causing a social scandal and announced that Seo Jun-won had been expelled.

The KBO will also soon hold a standing committee to discuss disciplinary action, which could reportedly lead to up to permanent disqualification.

(Video editing by Oh Young-taek)