The Goyang Day One professional basketball team is facing disbandment 10 months after its founding.
The Korean Basketball League (KBL) will hold an extraordinary general assembly and board meeting at 7 a.m. on the 16th to decide whether the team will continue to exist.
Financial difficulties have led to this situation.
The Goyang Carrot Jumpers were created after Daewon Asset Management, whose parent company is Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, acquired the Goyang Orion after the 2021-22 season ended. With former national coach Heo Jae “Basketball President” Heo as its president, Day One Asset Management declared that it would “change everything but the nepotism,” and planned to move forward in a new way by introducing a naming sponsor.
The team’s management became even more difficult when its parent company, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, went into bankruptcy during the season. The team managed to pay its KBL membership fee of 1.5 billion won twice overdue, but the wages of the players and suppliers remained unpaid for nearly five months.
The naming rights sponsor, Carot Insurance, also canceled after one season. There is also reportedly a buyout payment owed to Orion.
Even under the worst of circumstances, Kim Seung-ki and his players were applauded for finishing fifth in the regular season last season and battling their way into the four-way playoffs. Based on this, after the end of the season, local governments such as the Busan Metropolitan Government and buyers were sought, but no one was willing to take on the club, which was heavily in debt.
The KBL notified the team last month to “pay off various debts by June 15 and present a plan for the future operation of the club,” but the team was unable to resolve the situation even during the three-month grace period.
At a press conference held at the National Assembly on June 14, players, including Day One captain Kim Kang-sun, said, “The players are struggling because they are behind on their salaries.” “Please take responsibility and pay the salaries using the 1.5 billion won in subscription fees and broadcasting revenue that the KBL received from Day One. If we cannot resolve the wage arrears by the 15th, we will comply with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s standard contract and recognize their free agent (FA) status.”
Despite appealing to the National Assembly, DaeWon was unable to pay the players by the 15th. They failed to comply with the KBL’s requirements and failed to submit documents. There is speculation in the basketball world that the KBL will settle the outstanding salary to protect the team.먹튀검증
The KBL’s bylaws (Article 12) state that “a club recognized as incapable of operating may be expelled by the general assembly with a three-fourths majority vote after deliberation by the board of directors. At the general meeting, representatives of the 10 clubs, including Day One, and KBL President Kim Hee-ok have the right to vote. If all 11 members are present, at least nine votes must be in favor of the expulsion.
Based on what’s happened so far, it’s safe to say that the organization will be disbanded. If the organization is disbanded, it is likely that the next season will be played in a nine-team system instead of the usual 10. Having demonstrated its inability to operate throughout the season, including failing to pay its membership fee upon its inception and even canceling its participation in the POs due to money problems, the organization is heading towards the worst possible conclusion: expulsion and disbandment.
