BRADENTON, Fla. — Jung Ho Kang, the Pirates third baseman working his way back toward the major leagues after a year away from baseball, said Wednesday he stopped drinking after being arrested for DUI in December 2016, his third drunken-driving arrest in South Korea.
“Obviously, I’m not touching a drop of alcohol moving forward,” Kang said Wednesday through interpreter Mark Kim, who also is serving as Kang’s personal driver.
Kang, 31, did not disclose the first two DUIs to the Nexen Heroes, his former Korean Baseball Organization team, or the Pirates. On Wednesday, speaking to American media for the first time since September 2016, Kang called failing to tell his employers about the previous arrests “an ill-informed decision” he is “very regretful” for making.