KBO demotes 5 umps to minors for 'retraining' after criticism from player

South Korea apparently takes umpiring very seriously.

After a player openly criticized the umpiring in a Korea Baseball Organization game, the KBO announced that the entire five-umpire crew from that game is being demoted to the minors for "retraining," according to Yoo Jee-ho of Yonhap News.

The game in question was between the Hanwha Eagles and SK Wyverns on Thursday. After their 8-4 win, Eagles outfielder Lee Yong-kyu sounded off on the umps' performance during a live postgame interview.

"Even though it's only been three games this season, a lot of players are really unhappy with the lack of consistency on ball-strike calls," Lee said. "I'd like to ask all the umpires to please be more considerate of the players. We're all very confused (with the inconsistent zone). I know the umpires are doing their best out there, but I just hope they should start seeing things from the players' perspective, too."

The KBO said that the five-man umpiring crew in question will begin working games in the Futures League - South Korea's equivalent to Triple-A - on Saturday. However, the league also asked players to stop openly criticizing officials.

Although Major League Baseball's umpires are often the subject of intense criticism from fans and players alike, the league does not punish poor performance with demotions to the minors.

The KBO began its season this week after originally delaying Opening Day due to the coronavirus pandemic. Select games from the 10-team league are being broadcast in the United States on ESPN due to MLB's ongoing COVID-19 shutdown.