▲ Oh Jaewon

"When I say 'people,' I mean family members and acquaintances, such as the player's parents and grandparents. We apologize for any misrepresentation during the editing process. But I still have a hard time thinking about that time."


Oh Jae-won, who has retired from Doosan and works as a commentator, expressed his discomfort about Park Chan-ho, who is known as the "Korean Express," in an interview with Den Magazine, which was released on YouTube on 10 October. "I really hate the feast of irresponsible words (by the commentator), the misunderstandings that build up because of that," he said, adding, "Please put this in there. I hate the Korean Express. It seems that the whole nation does not know the heart that woke up at dawn and cheered on, the gratitude. It's not just one or two players who made a fool out of their commentary every once in a while. I don't think I've ever taken responsibility for that."

Oh Jae-won and Park Chan-ho's relationship dates back to 2012. Park Chan-ho, who returned to Hanwha after a stint in the United States, faced Oh Jae-won in the fifth inning against Doosan in Daejeon on August 8. In a bout that went all the way to full count, Oh Jae-won hit Park Chan-ho's ball with all his might. The batted ball hit the back of Oh Jae-won's foot and rolled into the infield. Hanwha infielder batted and made an out, but Oh Jae-won appealed to the referee that he was hit in the back of his foot. The referee accepted Oh Jae-won's appeal and it was a foul, and on the next ball, Oh Jae-won went to the net.



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And I mentioned the above two years later, in September 2, when I was commentating on the qualifiers against Taiwan at the Incheon Asian Games, and it had a big impact. Oh Jae-won was accused of doing Hollywood action against senior Park Chan-ho. Even during practice for the next game, Oh Jae-won looked deflated, avoiding reporters and teammates.

And in an interview at the time, Oh Jae-won complained of chagrin. "Obviously it was right," he said. From a pitcher's point of view, it might not have seemed right, but it certainly did. I was sick and was being treated, and I remember wondering why he came out because the director of Han Dialogue was appealing at the time." "I don't have the guts to do Hollywood action against Park Chan-ho senior," he said, adding, "If I really didn't bat, I'd retire. They came to our locker room and complained and they said I apologized, but that didn't happen." After hearing Oh Jae-won's complaint, Park Chan-ho apologized, saying, "I think I made it difficult for my junior," and the incident seemed to be cut short.

However, Oh Jae-won's interview, released two days ago, has "reignited" the controversy. In particular, public criticism was met with the remark, "The whole nation woke up at dawn and cheered for them, and it seems that they don't know the gratitude of it." Oh Jae-won expressed his feelings about this.

"When I say 'people,' I mean family members and acquaintances, such as the player's parents and grandparents. We apologize for any misrepresentation during the editing process. But I still have a hard time thinking about that time. During the Asian Games, I hid in corners for fear of harming the national team, and my teammates couldn't even talk to me. My parents had a lot of heartache." "Park Chan-ho said he apologized to me at the time, but I can say that I didn't get it. "As a junior, I had no choice but to accept the unilateral apology."

"People around me are saying, 'Are we touching too big an issue?' and they're worried. However, I think that such a momentary comment causes me to be criticized, to be hurt by criticism, and to be traumatized by the hurt. "This is an interview that I did because I didn't want those parts." "Once again, we apologize for the perversion that occurred. The editor-in-chief in charge of the magazine also received an omission to explain the word people. But I too deserve to be reprimanded and I will try to be more careful in my words in the future."

(Photo = Courtesy of SPOTV, Yonhap News)