Baseball Conflict Intensifies
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of the Korean Baseball Organization's (KBO) teams retaliated Sunday by
putting the 72 players who signed up for the Players Association on free
contract status. As the owners are united in their stance against the formation
of a union, the move effectively bans the members from playing baseball in
Korea. They argue that the economic conditions in the country at present do
not allow for collective bargaining on pay by a unified players' body.
A spokesman for the association said that their numbers had increased to
over a hundred, a claim refuted by the owners who insist that the numbers
diminished by the threat. The KBO announced that as a result of the
situation and the disbanding of the Ssangbang Wool team, next season will
only see seven teams participating.
(Kim Dong-seok, ds-kim@chosun.com)