High school student genius → KBO Pass to the U.S. → Avoiding military duty, Park Hyo-joon's increasingly twisted career, the second Seok Hyun-jun Hanna
Dec 20, 2024
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The outcome of reality is too bitter to be wrapped in a romantic rhetoric of 'Choice for Dreams'. Park Hyo-joon (28), who has been challenging the U.S. Major League Baseball (MLB) stage for the past decade, has become a 'avoidance of military duty'. If this continues, he may become a 'criminal' who violates the Military Service Act, let alone fulfills his dream.
On the 19th, the Military Manpower Administration released the personal information of 422 people (name, age, address, date of avoidance, summary of avoidance, and violation of the law) on its website. This included baseball player Park Hyo-joon.
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According to the announcement on the website of the Military Manpower Administration, Park Hyo-joon became a shunner as of March 8, 2023, with 'Unreturned Country within the Permit Period'. It falls under Article 94 of the Military Service Act 'violation of the obligation to permit overseas travel'. The provisions of the statute are as follows.
Article 94 (violation of overseas travel permit obligations)
① A person who has left the country without obtaining permission under Article 70 (1) or (3) for the purpose of avoiding or reducing military service obligations or staying abroad (including a person who has not returned home in violation of the return order under Article 83 (2) 10) shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one year and not more than five years.
Accordingly, the Military Manpower Administration accused Park Hyo-joon of violating the Military Service Act in March last year, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs served Park Hyo-joon with a notice of order to return his passport in April. However, Park Hyo-joon objected to this and filed an administrative lawsuit in May last year. The legal dispute has not yet been settled.
However, the legal dispute does not seem to be very favorable to Park Hyo-joon. It is for this reason that the Military Manpower Administration included Park Hyo-joon as a 'non-return country within the permit period' on the 'Avoidance of Military Duty'. If Park Hyo-joon returns home quickly and fulfills his military service obligations, the charges will naturally be cleared and removed from the list. However, if he continues to remain in the U.S., he is likely to become a violation of the military service law.
There is a similar case. It is Seok Hyun-jun (33), a former member of the French national team who played for Stade de Reims and Trua AC in the French Ligue 1.
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Seok Hyun-jun left for the Netherlands in 2009 when he was a senior at Singal High School and joined AFC Ajax after a tryout. I didn't follow the usual route to K League or college.
That didn't mean that Ajax had agreed to join the team in advance. Seok Hyun-jun went to the Netherlands with a single blood and succeeded in advancing to the overseas stage on his own. This is why it received a lot of attention for its "Cinderella Story". However, since then, my career has not gone as well as I thought. Above all, he joined the national team and sought military service exceptions, but this plan did not go as planned.
Eventually, Seok Hyun-jun, who was wandering the European stage, was listed as a "2019 draft dodger" released by the Military Manpower Administration in December 2020. It was also suspected of violating Article 94 of the Military Service Act on the grounds of 'non-return within the permit period'. It is exactly the same as the case of Hyojun Park. It is the same that the administrative lawsuit was filed against this.
However, Seok Hyun-jun's ending was 'bad ending'. Lost an administrative lawsuit in February 2021. The Military Manpower Administration urged him to return home, and the validity of the passport was also invalidated. He returned home at the end of 2022, but was formally indicted by the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office on December 29 on charges of `violation of the Military Service Act, such as not returning home within the Military Manpower Administration's permission period to stay abroad without justifiable grounds.'
Eventually, on June 1, 2023, the first trial sentenced '8 months in prison and 2 years of probation' Seok appealed. In the second trial on October 8, 2023, he was commuted to '6 months in prison, suspended for 1 year'. I have a criminal record left. In fact, it can be said that his career is over.
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It is hard to say that Park Hyo-joon decided to avoid military service from the beginning. Ten years ago, there seemed to be only a bright rosy future ahead of him. This is because he was called the best 'baseball genius' of his time.
He has been attracting attention since he was a freshman in the baseball department, and in his second year, he was evaluated as superior to his main shortstop 'third grade senior'. Kim Ha-sung, who won the Gold Glove in the National League Utility category in the 2023 Major League Baseball, was compared to Park Hyo-joon. KBO League teams, as well as overseas scouts, carefully observed Park Hyo-joon and evaluated him as a `genius.'
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But the reality was cold. Seven years after entering the U.S., he finally made his big league debut with the Yankees in 2021. However, only one game, as a pinch hitter, is over. However, he was traded to Pittsburgh immediately and could play 44 games. He played 127 at-bats and hit three home runs. But the pioneering eye was too low. The batting average was in the .100 range (0.197), and he struck out 38 while walking 18.
I couldn't overcome this problem at last. In 2022, the opportunity to play in 23 games was reduced to 51 at-bats, but he did not enter the big league at all from 2023. Major League Baseball's overall performance is .210 (36 hits in 179 at-bats), 5 home runs, 20 RBIs, and an OPS of 0.637 in 68 games
This year, he played for Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators under Oakland. He played in 115 games with a batting average of 254, nine homers, 55 RBIs and 15 steals. The performance is not very noticeable even in the minor leagues. If there is no major reversal of 'reboundal dislocation' in next year's spring camp, it will be almost impossible to return to the big league.
Park Hyo-joon doesn't have much time left. The same goes for options. There is little way to avoid the 'violation of the Military Law' if we remain in the United States. Like Choi Ji-man and Baek Cha-seung, there are ways to avoid mandatory military service by obtaining permanent residency or U.S. citizenship. However, if this method is chosen, it is likely to face numerous criticisms.
Ten years ago, Park Hyo-joon made a choice for his dream. I went to America. Unfortunately, it did not come to fruition. Ten years ago 'High school student genius' is now on the verge of becoming a criminal. What choice will Park Hyo-joon make this time.
wman@sportschosun.com
