Drunk Driving Incident Leads to Coaching Change for Kiwoom Heroes

The Kiwoom Heroes baseball team has appointed Jang Young-seok as their new first-team hitting coach, filling the void left by Lee Yong-gyu, who resigned following a drunk driving incident. This move aims to stabilize the team's coaching staff after recent disruptions.

Lee Yong-gyu's tenure as hitting coach was short-lived. He was appointed to the role at the start of the season after the previous coach, Kim Tae-wan, stepped down. However, Lee was arrested on June 12 for driving under the influence, with his blood alcohol level significantly exceeding the legal limit for license revocation. Following the incident, he informed the club of his decision to retire from his playing and coaching career, which the team accepted.

To address Lee's departure, the Heroes promoted Jang Young-seok from his role as a hitting coach for the second team. Jang will now share responsibilities for the first-team hitting program with head coach Kang Byung-sik. The second-team hitting duties will be handled by Futures (second-team) manager Oh Yoon, with additional support from senior coach Park Byung-ho.

In addition to the coaching changes, the team also adjusted its roster. Infielder Seo Jun-seo was added to the first-team roster, while veteran outfielder Im Byeong-wook was removed. A team official explained that Im Byeong-wook is dealing with wrist and leg issues, necessitating his absence for treatment and recovery. Im Byeong-wook has appeared in 42 games this season, batting .255 with 5 home runs and 17 RBIs.

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Im Byeong-wook is experiencing some wrist discomfort and his leg condition is not 100%, so he was removed from the first-team roster for treatment and management.