Lawmaker says Baejae High baseball chant incident cannot be dismissed as 'student mistake'

Amid calls to show leniency toward students involved in the Baejae High School baseball controversy — in which players chanted inappropriate slogans directed at Gwangju First High School during a game — Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Byung-joo said the incident should not be brushed aside as a "student mistake."

Kim took to social media Thursday to say that while some have argued for tolerance in consideration of the students' futures, South Korea's "complacent response" deserves reconsideration in light of Germany's firm stance against hate speech and discrimination.

The lawmaker cited Germany's strict controls on far-right hate speech and called for proper education for young people.

"German criminal law classifies the use of Nazi salutes, symbols and slogans as a crime," Kim said. "Publicly displaying Nazi symbols can carry a prison sentence of up to three years, and repeated offenses are subject to aggravated punishment under incitement statutes. Even when framed as artistic or educational in purpose, no exception is granted if the intent is to advocate or incite hatred."

He also said Germany works to eradicate hatred at its roots through education, noting that students spend two years studying the history of atrocities committed during the Nazi era and are required to visit former concentration camps and Holocaust memorials.

Kim said Germany's civic education curriculum does not treat the lessons of the Holocaust as a matter of historical record alone, but extends them to contemporary issues — including far-right extremism and racial discrimination around the world — so that students internalize the values of tolerance and the rule of law. He noted that when students at a high school in Brandenburg recently performed Nazi salutes and carved swastikas, German society did not suppress the incident but treated it as a challenge the community had to confront and resolve openly.

"Rather than letting it pass with 'kids will be kids,' they chose to fight to the end to protect the values of the community," Kim said. He added that Germany's resolute approach stems from a hard lesson learned through history: that hatred and discrimination, if left unchecked, become entrenched as culture — and once they become culture, they are very difficult to reverse.

Kim said dismissing the Baejae players' chants as "youthful indiscretion" and ensuring such behavior never arises in the first place are "entirely different matters." "What we need now is not a futile debate over the level of punishment," he said. "This is a moment for reflection — on whether our schools have ever had clear principles and systematic education on hatred and discrimination."

The incident occurred June 29 at Mokdong Baseball Stadium in Seoul, where some Baejae High School baseball players chanted "Gotta go to Starbucks" and "Tank Day" during their game against Gwangju First High at the 81st Cheongnonggi National High School Baseball Championship and Weekend League Finals.

The chants were widely seen as a reference to a controversy involving Starbucks Korea, which drew heavy criticism after running a tumbler discount promotion on May 18 — the anniversary of the May 18 Democratic Uprising — using the phrases "Tank Day" and "A thud on the desk," expressions seen as mocking the historical events of that day.