REPORT: South Korean Police Investigating Bomb Threat That Targeted Shohei Ohtani
(Photo by JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images)
It is a great and scary time to be Shohei Ohtani these days.
A bomb threat against baseball player Shohei Ohtani, who is in Seoul for Major League Baseball’s first regular-season games in the nation, was being looked into by South Korean police on Wednesday.
The South Korean Consulate in Vancouver notified them of the situation after receiving an English-language email threatening to attack the 18,000-seat Gocheok Sky Dome in the South Korean capital, home of Ohtani’s Los Angeles Dodgers’ scheduled game against the San Diego Padres.
Officials added the message specifically mentioned Shohei Ohtani as a target.
According to Seoul police, no suspicious devices were discovered during the stadium check, which involved 150 police officers, bomb-sniffing dogs, and X-ray machines. The Associated Press also reported on the Seoul police statement.
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About six hours after the email was sent, the sender was located by police, a person briefed on the matter told Acee. Yoon Min-sik of the Korea Herald reports that officials have linked the threat to Japan.
The Dodgers and Padres opened the 2024 season with MLB’s first-ever games in South Korea on Wednesday and will continue on Thursday. The two games mark Shohei Ohtani’s highly anticipated debut with the Dodgers, who signed him to a historic free-agent contract this offseason.
As for the first game, Ohtani’s new team came from behind in the late innings to earn a 5-2 win. Ohtani had two singles in his Dodgers debut.
Shohei Ohtani singled twice, stole a base, and drove in the Dodgers’ fifth and final run.
Los Angeles Dodgers Signed Shohei Ohtani To Historic Deal In Offseason
The Los Angeles Dodgers signed Shohei Ohtani to a 10-year, $700-million-dollar deal, with Ohtani shockingly deferring $680 million until after the contract expires in 2033.
Rather than paying Ohtani the $70 million average annual value of his contract in 2024, the Dodgers will pay him $2 million. Then another $2 million next year, and every year until 2033. Once that is done, they will pay him $68 million annually.
