Drunk driving incident leads to retirement for Kiwoom player-coach Lee Yong-gyu

Kiwoom Heroes player-coach Lee Yong-gyu will retire from professional baseball following a drunk driving incident early Monday morning. The club accepted his decision after he expressed remorse and a desire to conclude his career.

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Lee Yong-gyu expressed his intent to conclude his professional career, feeling responsible for this incident, and the club has accepted this.

Lee was returning home around 6 a.m. when his vehicle collided with a car making a U-turn and a parked police car at a red light in Guri City, Gyeonggi Province. Both the driver of the U-turn vehicle and the police officers in the patrol car sustained injuries.

An on-site breathalyzer test revealed Lee's blood alcohol content was high enough to warrant license revocation. He has been booked without detention by the Guri Police on charges including drunk driving under the Road Traffic Act.

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Lee Yong-gyu is deeply reflecting on his wrongdoing without any excuses regarding this incident.

Lee voluntarily reported the incident to the Kiwoom Heroes club immediately after the accident. The team dispatched staff to assess the situation and subsequently reported the incident to the KBO Clean Baseball Center. The club stated that Lee deeply regrets his actions and has no excuses, expressing his intention to cooperate fully with the ongoing investigation and take responsibility for the damages incurred.

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He has also conveyed his intention to faithfully cooperate with the investigation by the relevant authorities.

Lee Yong-gyu debuted in 2004 with the LG Twins and also played for the Kia Tigers and Hanwha Eagles before joining Kiwoom in 2021. He became a player-coach last April and was recently appointed as the first-team hitting coach last month. His career statistics include 2,035 games played, a batting average of .295, 2,140 hits, and 397 stolen bases. He had not played in any games this season.

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He expressed his sincere apologies to those who suffered damage due to this accident and his intention to take full responsibility for damage recovery.