Lights Out: Why a South Korean Baseball Team Was Forced to Leave

Gocheok Dome / Photo=DB

[Sports Today reporter Shin Seo-young] The Kiwoom Heroes had planned to hold batting practice after the game, but officials at their home stadium, Gocheok Sky Dome, cut the lights, forcing the team to abandon the session and leave.

Kiwoom fell 2-5 to the KIA Tigers in a home game at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on May 26.

The loss extended Kiwoom’s losing streak to three games and left the club at 20 wins, 1 tie and 29 losses, anchored in last place.

After managing just five hits, Kiwoom decided to run a special postgame batting session—commonly called a “teukta”—to try to shake off its recent offensive slump.

A Kiwoom official told Sports Today, “Around the seventh inning our coaching staff asked the club to arrange a postgame special batting session. We reached out to Seoul Facilities Corporation for permission, but they said it was difficult because there had been no prior coordination for postgame field activity.”

“We repeatedly explained on-site that the practice was necessary, but the corporation maintained it couldn’t allow it without prior approval,” the official added.

After the game ended, team staff began setting up a batting cage, but a Seoul Facilities Corporation employee intervened, saying the activity hadn’t been arranged in advance and could not proceed. The stadium lights were switched off immediately.

Kiwoom maintains it had reserved the venue within the contracted hours. “We submit the next month’s Gocheok Dome reservation every month,” the official said. “We filed this month’s application back in April and listed the rental time through 11:00 PM. We only planned about 20 minutes of practice, but we kept getting the same response. In the end, we couldn’t do it.”

The game between Kiwoom and KIA actually ended around 9:21 PM, leaving roughly 1 hour and 40 minutes before the rental period expired.

Seoul Facilities Corporation stood by its requirement for prior coordination. A corporation representative said, “We can’t approve activities that weren’t coordinated in advance. To use the field after a game, you must request cooperation several days ahead.”

Many at the ballpark criticized that stance as out of touch with how pro baseball operates. Teams frequently decide on impromptu postgame special batting sessions to reset the mood when hitters are struggling or when the club is in a losing skid. It’s often impossible to predict a slump and schedule postgame practice days in advance.

In the end, Kiwoom’s players left without conducting the session, and the stadium lights were turned back on later. The Kiwoom official noted, “Normally, after the fans have left we keep only minimal lighting on to do field maintenance. I understand they carried out the usual cleanup and ground work after the players exited.”

This is not the first time Seoul Facilities Corporation has faced criticism for inflexible handling. Last November, when the South Korean national baseball team held training at Gocheok Dome ahead of exhibition games in Japan, a corporation employee brought two acquaintances into the dugout and disrupted the session. That employee also asked some players for autographs and photos and was stopped.

[Sports Today reporter Shin Seo-young sports@stoo.com]
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