Pirates 3B Jung Ho Kang arrested for fleeing DUI scene
According to reports out of South Korea, Jung Ho Kang of the Pittsburgh Pirates was arrested for DUI.
Reports have emerged out of Korea that Jung Ho Kang, third baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates, was arrested early Friday morning in Seoul after leaving the scene of a DUI crash. Korean journalist Jeeho Yoo reported that Kang had a blood alcohol content of 0.084 percent. That is just slightly over the legal limit here in the United States, but is significantly higher than the 0.05 percent limit in his home country.
Korean news outlet Naver reported that Kang ran into a guardrail before fleeing the scene of the incident. No one was injured.
Korean baseball writer Daniel Kim reported that Kang told police he was not the driver. However, his vehicle’s black box confirmed that the infielder was in fact the driver at the time of the crash. The Pirates were asked to comment, but are still waiting for more details.
The #Pirates say they're looking into the report of Jung Ho Kang leaving scene of a DUI incident, and will issue a statement later tonight.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) December 2, 2016
For Kang, this is another troubling incident, as he was accused of sexual assault in Chicago this summer. Charges have yet to be filed in that case, as the police are having difficulties reaching the alleged victim to complete their investigation. In the initial police report, the victim stated that she was drifting in and out of consciousness during the incident.
In two years in the major leagues since arriving from the KBO, Kang is a .273/.354/.483 hitter with 36 home runs and 120 RBIs. After returning midseason in 2016 after recovering from a serious knee injury, the third baseman hit 21 home runs in 103 games. Kang could become a trade candidate for the Pirates if management has tired of his off-the-field issues. He is under team control for three more years and less than $12 million