Former professional baseball pitcher Lim Chang-yong, who once dominated an era with his blazing fastball, has stood in front of a camera.
Lim, who was even sentenced to prison on fraud charges after engaging in overseas gambling and failing to pay back his gambling debts, spoke out.
[Lim Chang-yong | Former Professional Baseball Player: I am truly proud to say that I performed better than anyone else on the baseball field. But in terms of my personal life, I gambled, and that single mistake has followed me around like a tag ever since.]
Lim explained that he stepped forward himself to confess the devastating effects of gambling and to apologize to his fans, describing how he first fell into gambling.
[Lim Chang-yong | Former Professional Baseball Player: At first, I didn't even really know how to gamble, but somehow I ended up winning quite a bit of money. It started as travel expenses, but telling myself I'd just play a little more, I kept winning. If I had lost, I would have brushed it off and thought, "This isn't my path," but since I kept winning, I think I started finding it fun. You make money too easily.]
He confessed that gambling was so fun that he became addicted to the dopamine rush it provided, which overshadowed the joy baseball gave him.
[Lim Chang-yong | Former Professional Baseball Player: The dopamine from striking out batters, getting a save, or becoming the winning pitcher on the baseball field was great, but the reason people get addicted to gambling is because of that. The dopamine rush is at its absolute peak.]
He even revealed that during his active playing days, he used to look forward to the end of the season just so he could gamble.
Concluding his remarks, Lim bowed his head to the fans who had supported him over the years, stating, "You really must never gamble."
[Lim Chang-yong | Former Professional Baseball Player: I am deeply sorry for my past wrongdoings, and I will do my best to ensure that something like this never happens again. I am sorry.]
Lim, who was released from his team during his playing career due to an overseas gambling scandal, was recently put on trial for failing to repay gambling funds in Manila, Philippines.
After being sentenced to eight months in prison in the first trial, Lim received a reduced sentence of eight months in prison suspended for three years in the appeal trial held yesterday, following which he uploaded a direct apology video to his personal YouTube channel.
(Reported by Kim Taewon | Video by Lee Eui-sun, Design by Lee Su-min, Produced by SBS Digital News, Source footage: YouTube channel Changyong Bulpae - Lim Chang-yong)
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