SEOUL, Aug. 12 (Yonhap) -- The captain of the high school baseball team recently banned for insensitive trash talk said Wednesday he has learned how words and actions can hurt others.

Seoul-based Pai Chai High School returned to action earlier in the day to begin the Bonghwang National High School Baseball Tournament at Mokdong Stadium in Seoul. The team had earlier served a one-month ban after some of its players derided their opponents from Gwangju Jeil High School during a late June tournament game by yelling, "Let's go to Starbucks!" and "Tank Day!"

Their chants were linked to a controversial Starbucks Korea promotion on May 18, which drew strong criticism for allegedly mocking the 1980 Gwangju pro-democracy uprising on its 46th anniversary.

The Korea Baseball Softball Association (KBSA) imposed a six-month ban on Pai Chai on July 1, but the school appealed that decision. The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) reviewed the case and reduced the ban to one month on July 20, effective immediately.

The decision made Pai Chai eligible for the Bonghwang tournament, the last national high school baseball competition of the year. But the team lost to Incheon High School 8-5 on Wednesday, after allowing three runs in the top of the eighth inning.

Pai Chai played without two players and manager Kwon Oh-young, who were serving the school's own suspension for their roles in the incident.

Captain Ko Hyun-seok, who started in left field and batted cleanup, going 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored, said he told his teammates to be careful with their words and chants during Wednesday's game.

"We didn't want to say anything inappropriate, and I told the guys we should just focus on trying to win the game," Ko told reporters afterward. "Even though I have not lived 20 years yet, I have learned a great deal about how one word or one act can hurt other people."

Ko lamented a lack of training leading up to the tournament, with the controversy surrounding the team's trash talk and subsequent suspension becoming a national story.

"Personally and for the rest of the team, we went through some difficult situations because we couldn't train as much as we wanted," Ko said. "We still had people supporting us, and we felt the only thing we could do for them was to win. We gave our best, and we apologize to our friends and everyone who came to support us for losing the game."

After the incident, Pai Chai baseball players, their parents and faculty members visited Gwagju Jeil in Gwangju, some 270 kilometers south of Seoul, to apologize in person. Student-athletes from both schools also visited the May 18th National Cemetery to pay respects to victims of the pro-democracy movement.

"We weren't sure if they would accept our apology, and we did our best to show our contrition," Ko said. "Gwangju Jeil gave us players and our parents a warm reception. I want to sincerely apologize to the Gwangju Jeil players and Gwangju citizens, and I am also grateful."

jeeho@yna.co.kr

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