/Photo = JTBC ‘Strongest Baseball’ YouTube video capture
Former baseball player Jang Won-sam (41) was spotted at a meeting with the cast and production team of ‘Strongest Baseball’ two months after the drunk driving controversy.
On the 15th, JTBC’s ‘Strongest Baseball’ was released on its YouTube channel.[미공개] A video titled ‘The appearance of surprise guest Jang Won-sam at the dinner party commemorating the confirmation of the 2025 season’ was posted. Jang Won-sam said, “I think I’m causing trouble by coming on such a good day. I’m out for a while on a bad day. I’m sorry that I came out without even saying hello to the ‘Best Baseball’ production crew, manager, coaches, and players properly.”
Wonsam Jang crashed into a car while backing up on a road in Gwangan-dong, Busan, around 1pm on August 17th last year. At the time, the blood alcohol content was at the level of license revocation (0.08% or higher). After the drunk driving incident became known, Jang Won-sam left ‘The Strongest Baseball’. At the time, the production team said, “Jang Won-sam deeply reflected on this incident, felt responsible, and announced his intention to voluntarily leave the show to the production team. The production team decided to listen to his opinions.”
The video was filmed in October last year, two months after the drunk driving incident. It appears that it was released three months later in consideration of the drunk driving controversy.
Jang Won-sam said, “I have been quietly reflecting on myself at home since the incident. I have been reflecting on myself for two months. Please know that I am reflecting a lot on the incident. I heard that the 2025 season was confirmed through today’s game.”
Producer Jang Si-won asked, “I came out because I thought Jang Won-sam needed to say ‘I’m sorry’ to the fans. He voluntarily left the show. Do you want to come back to Strongest Monster?” Wonsam Jang replied, “I have to come back,” and PD Jang said, “I have to have a tryout.”
In fact, given that the statement was made with a return to ‘the best baseball’ in mind, there are reactions that suggest that Jang Won-sam may have been attempting to return after two months of drunk driving.
Wonsam Jang joined Hyundai Unicorns in 2006. He played as a pitcher for Samsung, LG, and Lotte before retiring in 2020. Afterwards, he joined ‘Best Baseball’ and has been active.
After drunk driving, Jang Won-sam posted on his social networking service (SNS), “It is true that I caused an accident while drunk driving,” and “There is no room for excuses. I am sorry for disappointing you.”
According to the post, Jang Won-sam had a drinking party in Changwon after meeting with acquaintances on August 16, the day before the accident. Afterwards, he drank until dawn on the 17th, the day of the accident, and arrived home by taxi at 3:37 am. Jang Won-sam, who went to bed after returning home, drove his car out of his home to attend a scheduled schedule in Busan that afternoon and got into an accident.
Jang Won-sam said, “I didn’t drink alcohol on the day of the accident, but if I still had a hangover, I should have called a taxi or hired a companion and not driven, or used public transportation. I had a complacent thought that I would be fine because I got enough sleep. He apologized and explained, “I grabbed the steering wheel and caused the accident.”
Kim So-yeon, Hankyung.com reporter sue123@hankyung.com
2025-01-16 00:11:00