Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani prepares for an exhibition game between Team Korea and the Los Angeles Dodgers at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Monday. (AP-Yonhap)
South Korean police on Wednesday said they are investigating an anonymous bomb threat on the MLB regular season opener slated to be held in Gocheok Dome in Seoul later in the day.
According to the Guro Police Station, the threat was made via email at around 6 a.m. Wednesday. The threat, made in English, was traced back to Japan and was sent to the email account of an employee of the South Korean consulate in Vancouver.
An initial probe of the arena showed no indications of explosives, but the police plan to dispatch around 150 members of the police strike force for a thorough search of the site. The arena will host the MLB season opener between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres at 7:05 p.m., marking the first time an official MLB match is held in South Korea.
South Korean authorities have recently received similar bomb threats on major facilities as well as a politician in Seoul, all of which ultimately turned out to be hoaxes. Last August, an anonymous bomb threat from Japan was made on Seoul City Hall, after threats were made on Seoul Tower in Namsan, the National Museum of Korea, and main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung.
Police suspect the threats were made by the same individual, and are conducting investigation on the matter.
Wednesday’s season opener will host stars like two-time American League MVP winner Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers and 2023 Gold Glove winner Kim Ha-seong of the Padres. The highly-coveted tickets for the game sold out in just eight minutes last month, and the game’s pregame performance will feature performances of popular K-pop stars aespa and (G)I-DLE.
