MLB continues its investigaton after Pirates' prospect Ji-hwan Bae is found guilty of assault in Sou

This story was updated from its original version to include a response from the Pirates.

Pirates minor league shortstop Ji-hwan Bae this week was found guilty of assaulting his ex-girlfriend, and was fined by South Korean officials. It remains unclear whether Bae also will be disciplined by either the Pirates or MLB.

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According to a report on the South Korean website Naver Sports, Bae, 19, on Monday was convicted of physically assaulting Seul-Gi Kim during an incident on New Year’s Eve 2017 in their hometown of Daegu, South Korea. Bae was fined 2 million won, which is equivalent to $1,755 in U.S. dollars.

“I am not satisfied with the result,” Kim told The Athletic on Thursday via text message. “The punishment is weak.”

Bae was not available for comment.

On Friday afternoon, Pirates spokesman Brian Warecki emailed a prepared statement to The Athletic: “Major League Baseball’s Department of Investigations is in the process of reviewing this matter, a review in which the Pirates are cooperating fully. At this time, Bae is permitted by Major League Baseball to continue to participate in baseball activitites. We will have no further comment at this time.”

Kim, 19, filed a police report in May in Daegu, stating that Bae choked and kicked her. In April, Kim posted a picture on her Instagram account of what she said were bruises on her arm caused by Bae. She also claimed he verbally abused her. During a text change with The Athletic, Kim said she initially remained quiet about it to avoid upsetting her family.

In May, the Pirates allowed Bae to return to South Korea and be questioned by police. In a prepared statement, Huntington said the club had reported the matter to MLB’s Department of Investigation. Bae was permitted to continue playing this summer during MLB’s review, which is still ongoing. MLB declined to comment until its query is complete. Kim said she has not yet been contacted by either the Pirates or MLB.

In 2015, MLB and the Players Association agreed on a comprehensive domestic violence and sexual abuse policy. The commissioner’s office also implemented additional policies to cover minor league players.

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According to Naver’s report, Bae also gave 10 million won (about $8,800) to Kim, which factored into the court’s decision to limit its penalty to 2 million won. Kim said she plans to donate all of that money to a fund for victims of domestic abuse.

“I did not do a settlement with him,” Kim said. “The (10 million won) is money to lower the punishment’s intensity. It is not money for reconciliation. I will donate 10 million won.”

In March, the Pirates signed Bae for $1.2 million, the second-largest international signing in franchise history. He had signed in September with the Atlanta Braves but was made a free agent by MLB when the Braves were found to have violated international signing rules.

MLB Pipeline ranks Bae as the No. 27 prospect in the Pirates’ system. This past season, he played in 35 games for rookie-level Bradenton and batted .271 (35 for 129) with a .711 OPS, six doubles, two triples, and 10 stolen bases.

Bae was on the Pirates’ roster for instructional league play in Florida, which ran from Sept. 20 to Oct. 6.

He is the second South Korean player in the Pirates’ system to have legal issues. On June 29, 2016, a woman filed a formal complaint with the Chicago police that Jung Ho Kang had sexually assaulted her at the team hotel in Chicago. However, no charges were ever filed against Kang, as the woman refused to cooperate with police.

In February 2017, Kang, 31, was convicted of a third drunk-driving offense in South Korea. He was sentenced to an eight-month jail term, which was suspended for two years. The conviction stymied Kang’s attempts to get a U.S. work visa until this past April.

In the comments section under the story about Bae on Naver, several readers made references to Kang. One reader remarked: “Pittsburgh people think that Koreans are only criminals.” Another wrote: “Pittsburgh is like a Korean prison.”

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Over the past couple of months, Kang (who was recovering from wrist surgery) and Bae worked out together at the Pirates’ spring training complex in Bradenton, Fla. When Kang was called up to join the Pirates for the final three games of the regular season, he was asked if he gave his younger countryman advice about how to handle off-the-field issues.

“He’s still a young player, so I think that there’s going to be some sort of a maturation process along the way for him,” Kang said through a translator. “I tried to give him some of my input and some of my experience, but I feel like with time and with the aging process, he’ll naturally get to a better spot.”

Kang did not elaborate.

Kim said she has not had direct contract with Bae since their incident on New Year’s Eve.

“He asked me to meet him, but I refused,” she said. “It’s been very hard for six months. I cheer for the team (the Pirates), but I do not cheer for him.”

(Top photo credit: Mike Janes/Four Seam Images via the Associated Press)

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