Ex-baseball player ordered to pay W800m won to Padres' Kim Ha-seong in contract dispute case

A former baseball player has been ordered to pay a substantial penalty to San Diego Padres' shortstop Kim Ha-seong for violating an agreement between the two.

The Seoul Central District Court ruled in Kim's favor on Friday in a lawsuit against Lim Hye-dong for breach of contract, mandating the defendant to pay 800 million won ($597,000).

The dispute originated from a scuffle between the two at a Seoul bar in February 2021. Lim had demanded a settlement from Kim, who was then completing his mandatory military service. Kim agreed, paying Lim 4 million won on the condition that Lim would neither contact him nor engage in any activities detrimental to Kim in the future. However, Lim breached this agreement by persistently contacting Kim.

Late last year, Kim filed both a criminal complaint against Lim on charges of blackmail and a civil lawsuit seeking damages for the contract violation.

Lim's brief baseball career began when he joined the Nexen Heroes (now Kiwoom Heroes) as a pitcher in 2015, but he left the team the following year.