A Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) emergency heatwave countermeasure meeting is held at the KBO in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the 6th. Yonhap News
Korea’s professional baseball league will pause through this weekend as a record-breaking heat wave grips the nation. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) decided to cancel all games scheduled from the 7th to the 9th and resume the league on the 11th, citing the safety of players and spectators.
The KBO, general managers of the 10 clubs, and Jang Dong-chul, secretary-general of the Korea Professional Baseball Players Association, held an emergency executive committee meeting on heat wave measures on the 6th at the Baseball Center in Dogok-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. They decided to cancel all 15 games that had been scheduled to take place at five stadiums nationwide from the 7th to the 9th.
Earlier, the KBO office had cancelled all professional baseball games scheduled for the 5th and 6th in consideration of the safety of spectators and players. As a result, the number of games cancelled this season due to the heat wave has risen to 30.
The KBO office and each club plan to resume the regular league on the 11th after supplementing heat wave response plans and stadium safety measures over the weekend. Game start times will also be adjusted for the time being. The start times, previously 6:30 p.m. on weekdays and 6 p.m. on weekends, will be changed to 7 p.m. on both weekdays and weekends.
However, games held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul will partially maintain the existing operating method in consideration of the characteristics of the domed stadium. Games can start at 7 p.m. on weekdays, 6 p.m. on Saturdays, and at 2 p.m. on Sundays depending on broadcast conditions. In addition, the KBO office decided to implement heat wave response measures, including newly introducing a “cooling time” concept similar to cleaning time during games, to prevent heat-related illnesses among players and spectators.