San Diego Padres Major League Baseball player Kim Ha-sung’s lawyers have released a new statement in response to the accusations of racketeering and threatening a junior baseball player.
On Aug. 8, Kim’s legal representatives released a new statement.
“As reported by various media outlets, Kim Ha-seong recently accused a former professional baseball player, who is his junior, of extortion and attempted extortion, and completed a police investigation,” the legal representative said.
“In 2021, the opposing player threatened Kim Ha-sung using his military status and demanded money in the form of a settlement, and Kim Ha-sung paid the money on the condition that the opposing player would not contact Kim Ha-sung directly or indirectly or take any unfavorable action against Kim Ha-sung,” the statement continued.
“Nevertheless, the other player repeatedly violated the agreement by contacting Kim Ha-sung again,” the legal representative said, adding, “Kim Ha-sung filed a criminal complaint to prevent further damage, and separately filed a civil lawsuit and a provisional injunction to claim penalties for violating the agreement.”
According to the legal representative, Kim Hae-sung made a detailed statement during the investigation of the complainant, and the facts will be revealed through the judgment of the investigation agency and the court.
“However, we would like to reiterate that the allegations that Kim unilaterally and repeatedly assaulted the other player are completely untrue,” the legal representative said.
“The other player will have to file a formal complaint against him if his allegations are true. In this case, Kim will sincerely participate in the investigation and prove his innocence, and at the same time, we will thoroughly hold the other party responsible for the false allegations,” he said.
“We plan to file additional charges against the opponent for defaming Kim Ha-seong by reporting false facts and manipulated evidence photos to the media, and we will not tolerate and will hold them civilly and criminally liable if their acts against the athlete continue,” the legal representative said.
The legal representatives concluded, “We apologize to the athlete for causing a lot of distress to many people due to her personal problems.”
Previously, Kim Ha-seong filed a complaint against Lim Hye-dong on March 27 for racketeering and attempted racketeering, and on March 6, he appeared before the police to complete the investigation. Im Hye-dong reportedly joined Kim Ha-sung’s management company after retiring as a baseball player and worked as a road manager.
In 2021, they had an argument over alcohol and got into a fight, after which Lim reportedly demanded a settlement from Kim Ha-sung.
On July 7, Lim Hye-dong appeared on TV Chosun and claimed, “Whenever (Kim Ha-sung) drank, he would habitually just assault me,” adding, “We haven’t been in contact for two years and he never asked for money or anything like that.”
Lim provided the media with photos of bruises on her face and neck that she claimed were evidence of assault by Kim, but the 7th Dispatch reported that some of the photos were evidence of domestic violence, not assault by Kim.
According to messages released on the same day, Lim explained the situation to Kim, saying, “This is the reality of domestic violence” and “Dad swore at me first.” 토토사이트