Day One players and fans stand in front of the National Assembly.
At 4 p.m. on the 14th, a press conference was held at the National Assembly Communication Center regarding the unpaid wages of Goyang Day One. The press conference was organized by Representative Hong Jung-min of the Democratic Party of Korea, who represents Byeong-dong district in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do.
Along with Rep. Hong, Kim Kang-sun, Han Ho-bin, Jeon Sung-hyun, and Lee Jung-hyun attended as representatives of the players, and five representatives of DAY1 fans were also present.
“We held a press conference to publicize the injustice of the players who have been suffering from wage arrears for five months due to the inadequate management of DaeWon,” said Hong.
A fan representative then read a statement. The statement conveyed their demands to the KBL and Day One. First, they demanded that the KBL, which allowed the Orion team to be acquired by an insolvent company called Day One Sports, be transparent and release all board meeting minutes and evidence of evaluation items.
We also expressed our hope that the KBL will take responsibility for paying the players who have been playing without pay since January this year using the KRW 1.5 billion in subscription fees and broadcasting revenue received from DaeWon. They want the KBL to take an active role, not just D-day one.
If the team is disbanded due to non-payment of wages, they demanded to be recognized as free agents. If the players could not be signed within the time frame, they requested to join another team through the draft under the terms of their current contracts, so that no player would retire due to this situation.
If the Day One players go to other teams, they will not be counted against the current salary cap. The KBL salary cap for this season is 2.8 billion won. The team requested an exception because the salary cap pressure would be even more severe if the players were scattered among the other nine teams.
The KBL held a relocation meeting on the 31st of last month and decided to give Day One until the 15th of this month to make a final move. If the team fails to resolve the wage arrears and naming rights issue by the deadline, the board of directors will meet again on the 16th to decide whether to expel the team.
The following is the full statement from a representative of the Day One fans.
We, the fans of the Goyang Day One Jumpers, would like to make the following statement regarding the situation of the Goyang Day One Jumpers in the 2022-2023 season. We have been hoping that the KBL would be able to support the stable operation of the Day One Jumpers basketball team and the basic maintenance of the players’ lives, such as paying their salaries and guaranteeing the length of their contracts. However, we are still waiting for a positive resolution to this situation, as the KBL has extended the payment date to June 15, which was supposed to be resolved by the end of May. We hereby demand the following from the KBL and Dayone Sports.
Demand transparent disclosure of all KBL board meeting minutes and evidence of evaluation items that approved the acquisition of Orion by Day One Sports, an insolvent company that cannot even pay its membership fees on time to the point of being rejected for the purchase of a soccer team.
However, the KBL has not been able to meet the salary payment date since last year, and the players have been playing without pay since January this year, and we hope that the KBL will take responsibility for paying the wages of the players using the 1.5 billion membership fees received from Day One and the income from broadcasting, which are not borne by the players.
However, if the full amount of wage arrears is not resolved by the 15th, please recognize the FA qualification to inherit the contract terms of the current Day One players, the same as the standard contract of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
However, in the event that a player fails to sign a contract within the time limit, he/she can be drafted by another team under the terms of the current contract, so that no player retires due to this situation.
We request an exception to the salary cap for the 10-team roster so that the current situation does not apply.
We ask that Day One Sports and the KBL address the cost of memberships that were promoted to fans under the guise of lifetime memberships and game tickets.
One, we ask for a solution that minimizes the damage to the affected parties by allowing all affected parties, including players and employees, to participate and reflect their opinions so that the decision is not unilaterally decided by the board of directors and not centered on victim relief.먹튀검증
However, it is a day one approved by each club through the board of directors. We expect everyone to take responsibility and take an active attitude to resolve the situation, as well as a system for players and follow-up measures.
Finally, the fans who support the Goyang Day One Jumpers are not just fans of one team, but fans who love Korean professional sports beyond basketball and wish for the development of Korean professional sports, so we ask for everyone’s attention and support so that the players do not suffer this kind of damage.
All the fans of the Goyang Day One Jumpers, June 14, 2023