"Foreign Player Who Lost Against KIA Hid Marijuana"

Signed Contract While Hiding Eight Years of Marijuana Use and Banned Substances
KIA's "Contract Termination Was Justified"... Court Sides with the Club

A foreign professional baseball player who failed to disclose a prior history of drug use to a domestic club lost a lawsuit demanding damages after being notified of contract termination.

On the 6th, the Gwangju District Court Civil Division 13 (Presiding Judge Jung Youngho) announced that it had dismissed the plaintiff's claim in a damages lawsuit filed by American baseball player A against the KIA Tigers club.

In December 2023, A signed a foreign player contract with KIA with a base annual salary of $300,000. However, the club notified A of contract termination in January of the following year, citing his history of using marijuana and psychotropic drugs (Adderall), and failure to pass the medical check.

In response, A claimed, "The contract was terminated without just cause, causing me to lose the opportunity to sign with another club," and demanded a total of $1.2 million in damages. He argued that "the contract termination was an unjust refusal to perform" and took legal action.

However, the court recognized A's responsibility. According to the ruling, A testified that he "smoked marijuana every day for eight years" and took medication containing amphetamines for chronic illness treatment, but did not disclose this in advance. In addition, there was no record that the KIA club had approved or confirmed the medical check results from a US hospital, so the contract termination was deemed justified.

A also claimed that the fact of his contract termination with KIA had been leaked to the media, but the court rejected this, stating, "There is no concrete evidence of a leak."