Controversy Grows Over High School Baseball Team's Mocking Cheers

Paejae High School has issued an official apology after sparking controversy for using regional discriminatory cheers during a national high school baseball tournament, but the school is now facing further backlash over its explanation and the manner in which it apologized.

On June 29, Paejae High School posted an apology on its website, stating, "We sincerely apologize for causing deep hurt and disappointment to the Gwangju Jeil High School team, their parents, alumni, and the citizens of Gwangju due to the inappropriate cheering slogans used by some of our student athletes."

The school stated, "We immediately stopped the student athletes in question and took necessary measures on-site," adding, "We will refer the students involved to the Student Discipline Committee and conduct special education on sportsmanship, human rights sensitivity, and community awareness for the entire baseball team."

It was also reported that the baseball team's head coach personally called Gwangju Jeil High School to apologize.

However, critics are pointing out that the school's explanation contradicts the actual situation shown in the game's broadcast footage.

The video shows multiple players in the dugout chanting, "Let's go, let's go, let's go to Starbucks," while performing synchronized movements.

This indicates that the chant was not merely the action of a single individual.

Controversy has also arisen regarding the school's claim that they "immediately stopped" the behavior.

In the released footage, it appears that the cheering only ceased after the Gwangju Jeil High School coaching staff lodged a strong protest and the umpire intervened to mediate the situation.

This has led to criticism that the school was more focused on downplaying the scope of its responsibility.

Following the incident, questions have also been raised about the sincerity of the apology posted on the school's website.

Claims have emerged that the apology, which was uploaded as an image file on the Paejae High School website, contains a watermark characteristic of images generated by Google's generative AI model, Gemini.

The slogans chanted by the Paejae High School students have been interpreted as mocking, reminiscent of the recent controversy surrounding Starbucks Korea's so-called "May 18 Tank Day" event, leading to accusations of regional discrimination.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education is reportedly considering whether to launch an investigation into Paejae High School.

Reported by Kim Ji-wook | Video by Lee Da-in | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.