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Jamsil Baseball Stadium remains empty on June 25. (Yonhap News)

South Korea’s professional baseball league is expected to allow spectators at its games starting late June or early July.

Yoon Tae-ho, head of the infectious disease prevention at South Korea’s Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, told reporters at a briefing on June 25 that he is holding talks with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and other agencies about allowing spectators at outdoor sports events, including professional baseball and soccer games. Yoon noted, however, that they still need to discuss how many spectators will be allowed at the games. The government is set to release these guidelines this weekend or next week.

Spectators could start watching professional baseball games as early as June 30 if the government decides what to do this week. If a government decision is delayed until next week, spectators will be allowed into the stadiums from July 3. The government plans to open up only 20-25% of seats at stadiums and slowly increase the number of spectators based on changes in the COVID-19 infection rate.

The KBO (Korean Baseball Organization) League’s secretariat and 10 teams have developed a set of guidelines for how to deal with COVID-19. The guidelines state that spectators will only be allowed to purchase tickets online, which will help the authorities track their movements. People without masks or with a fever higher than 37.5 degrees Celsius will not be admitted into the stadiums. The league also plans to restrict the sale of food and beverages and will not allow yelling and cheering. Baseball players will not take part in ball signings or other events, either.

Soccer fans will also get to watch their games in person after the government releases its guidelines. The government has promised to give soccer teams a week to prepare before they can start accepting spectators, which means that fans could start watching games from as early as July 10. Large stadiums, such as the Seoul World Cup Stadium, can seat many spectators even with social distancing protocols in place. Smaller, soccer-only stadiums that fit just up to 10,000 spectators will not be able to seat as many people.

By Kim Chang-keum, staff reporter

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