Alleged Kim Ha-seong blackmailer questioned by police

Former Kiwoom Heroes player Lim Hye-dong appeared before police for questioning Wednesday over allegations that he blackmailed his former teammate Kim Ha-seong.

Lim Hye-dong, center, speaks to reporters at Seoul Gangnam Police Station in southern Seoul on Wednesday. [YONHAP]

Former Kiwoom Heroes player Lim Hye-dong appeared before police for questioning Wednesday over allegations that he blackmailed his former teammate Kim Ha-seong.

Seoul Gangnam Police Station summoned Lim and questioned him about the allegations, according to the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily.

The incident stems from a physical altercation that allegedly happened in 2021.

The JoongAng Ilbo reported earlier this month that Lim asked Kim for money to stay quiet about a physical altercation between the two.

Kim Ha-seong [AFP/YONHAP]

Kim played for the Heroes from 2014 to 2020, when he signed with the San Diego Padres on Dec. 31 of that year. He did not fly to the United States to join his new team until spring training, staying in Seoul and initially training with the Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul.

The altercation between Kim and Lim — who has now retired — allegedly happened at some point during the two-and-a-bit month window between Kim signing with the Padres and leaving Korea.

The law firm representing Kim said on Dec. 8 that the alleged attempt to extort money happened while Kim was completing his mandatory military training in 2021, when any legal trouble could have forced him into active duty before he had a chance to join the MLB club.

Kim earned a military exemption as part of the gold medal winning team at the 2018 Asian Games. The exemption still requires players to complete a few weeks of basic military training, which Kim underwent at the start of 2021.

Any legal trouble while fulfilling that basic training would have canceled Kim’s exemption and forced him into active service. Korean mandatory military service lasts between 18 and 21 months depending on the branch of the military you serve in, meaning that Kim would have been unable to join the Padres until the 2023 season.

The police said on Dec. 7 that Kim filed a complaint with police for Lim’s attempt to blackmail him. After Kim’s complaint was known to the public, Lim said in interviews with media that “Kim constantly exercised violence on him.”

Kim then filed another complaint with police for defamation on Dec. 11.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN AND JIM BULLEY [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]