SEOUL– Following the end of the national mourning period in light of a tragic crowd crush in Seoul, cheering activities in the South Korean baseball championship round will resume Monday.
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said the cheering squads for the SSG Landers and the Kiwoom Heroes in the Korean Series will be back on their respective stages starting with Game 5 on Monday at Incheon SSG Landers Field, some 30 kilometers west of Seoul.
The government had designated a weeklong national mourning period, through Saturday, following the devastating accident in the Seoul entertainment district of Itaewon on Oct. 29. The first four games of the Korean Series were all played last week during the mourning period, and the KBO decided to keep cheering bands off the stage for that duration. Amps were turned off and ceremonial first pitches were canceled.
The pregame ceremony will be back on for Monday evening’s game. A quartet of players selected to the “KBO 40 Legends” anniversary team, Kim Ki-tai, Jung Min-tae, Koo Dae-sung and Lee Sang-hoon, will take the mound for a joint first pitch.
The KBO also said the amps will be turned back on, though at a lower volume than usual. Cheerleaders will return to the stage, but the league office said there will be no dance performances in between innings.
Source: Yonhap News Agency