Samsung professional basketball coach Lee Sang-min resigns… ‘Drunk driving’ Cheon Ki-beom retires

Lee Sang-min (50), manager of professional basketball Seoul Samsung, puts down his baton.

The Samsung Club announced on the 26th that “Manager Lee Sang-min felt responsible for the poor performance and lack of management of the team and expressed his intention to resign as manager.”

The club accepted manager Lee’s intention to resign, and for the rest of the season, coach Lee Kyu-seop will take over as acting manager and lead the team.

As a result, Lee will leave the team after about eight years as Samsung’s manager.

After graduating from Hongik University Obituary High School and Yonsei University, Lee worked as a professional KCC player at Samsung before retiring in 2010 and working as a coach at Samsung since 2012.

In 2014, he was appointed as Samsung’s official manager and led the team, but this season, the team was sluggish at the bottom of the regular league (7 wins and 27 losses), and a player under the influence had a drunk driving accident, so he decided to resign as manager.


Cheon Ki-beom (29), who recently received a 54-game suspension from the KBL for having an accident while driving under the influence, will retire.

Samsung announced that “Chun Ki-beom has decided to retire in order to take moral responsibility for the drunk driving incident.”

Cheon Ki-beom was arrested on the 19th for driving a car while intoxicated on a road in Unseo-dong, Jung-gu, Incheon.

Through the club, Cheon Ki-beom said, “I apologize to everyone for not being able to fulfill my duties and responsibilities as a professional player and causing a scandal. I will deeply reflect and faithfully implement the association’s sanctions and volunteer activities.

Cheon Ki-beom, who was selected by Samsung with the 4th pick in the 2016 rookie draft and was active, returned from military service in December last year after completing his military service in Sangmu, but eventually took off his uniform.

The Samsung club said, “We will show the team doing their best for the rest of the game.

photo = Yonhap News

[ⓒ 세계일보 & Segye.com, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]

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