Lee Ho-seong, 41; Professional Baseball Player in Korea/Suspect In Triple Murder
Bill Schenley
FROM: Baseball America ~
By Thomas St. John
SEOUL, South Korea
A former baseball standout and one-time head of the Korea
Professional Baseball Player Association has shocked the
country with his involvement in a quadruple murder-suicide.
Police said that Lee Ho-seong killed a 46-year-old woman
identified as Kim Yeon-suk as well as her three daughters and
buried them in a pit in a cemetery south of Seoul. Investigators
believe Lee then committed suicide by jumping into the Han
River, where his body was discovered on March 10. The
woman and her children had been missing since Feb. 21,
prompting a nationwide search, and their bodies were
discovered March 11.
The crime has left many in Korea to wonder what would drive
a well liked and popular star to do such a thing. Lee was one of
Korea's most glamorous baseball players and spent his entire
pro career with the former Haitai (now Kia) Tigers, which ruled
Korean pro baseball in the 1990s. After retiring in 2001, Lee had
several businesses that eventually failed, and the constant failures
put him into financial hardship.
According to Korean media reports, Lee met Kim, a single
mother with three teenage daughters, and they planned to get
married. Lee borrowed money from her, and Kim eventually
demanded the money to be repaid. Authorities said he may have
owed her the equivalent of $250,000.
Lee was unable to pay the money back, and police speculated
that this was the catalyst that set Lee off. Other details about the
case were still sketchy because there was no suicide note, but
Lee was seen on security video removing four large black duffel
bags from the woman's apartment late one evening. He was also
put at the scene by a witness who saw Lee in the parking lot about
the time the four women went missing.
Police eventually released Lee's name and offered a reward for
information on his whereabouts. The next day, he became
front-page news, and investigators believe about 3 a.m. the
following morning, Lee jumped off a bridge into the Han River
which runs through Seoul.
Police confirmed Lee's identity through his fingerprints and found
the bodies of the four women soon after his death in a cemetery in
Lee's hometown of Kwangju. A break in the case came when
cemetery employees came forward saying Lee had asked them to
dig a large pit next to his father's grave, so that he could build a
memorial.
Lee helped his team to four Korea Series titles in the 1990s during
his 12-year career. He debuted in 1990, batting .304 to rank
seventh in the Korea Baseball Organization. He batted .272 with
102 home runs for his career, and won two Gold Gloves as an
outfielder as well. Lee was team captain in 1999 and 2000 and
became president of the league's players union in 2001.
donkorle...@gmail.com
Kenny McCormack
...
>> his 12-year career. He debuted in 1990, batting .304 to rank
>> seventh in the Korea Baseball Organization. He batted .272 with
>> 102 home runs for his career, and won two Gold Gloves as an
>> outfielder as well. Lee was team captain in 1999 and 2000 and
>> became president of the league's players union in 2001.
>
>this is bad
--
Kenny, I'll ask you to stop using quotes of mine as taglines.
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