BRADENTON, Fla. _ According to an unconfirmed South Korean report, Jung Ho Kang has been denied a visa to enter the United States after a DUI conviction, his third, resulted in a suspended sentence.
The report was published on the Naver Sports website.
Pirates general manager Neal Huntington, who said Thursday it was "unrealistic" to expect Kang to be ready for Opening Day, did not immediately respond to a text message. Kang's agent, Alan Nero, did not immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment.
Kang was convicted of leaving the scene of a DUI arrest in December and sentenced to eight months in jail, suspended for two years. He has appealed the sentence.
Pirates spring training began more than a month ago, but Kang missed the beginning to attend his trial and sentencing in Seoul, South Korea, where he was arrested Dec. 2 after crashing into a guard rail. His blood alcohol level was reportedly 0.084, above the Korean legal limit of 0.05.
Pirates president Frank Coonelly issued a statement a little after 3 p.m. Friday:
"A Korean news outlet has reported on a purported development in Jung Ho Kang's effort to secure permission to travel to the United States for purposes of continuing his career as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates and added speculation regarding a driving incident in a "third country."
"The facts, as we know them, are that Kang still has not been granted permission to travel to the United States under a work visa. We continue to work with Kang and his representatives to present materials and information to the appropriate parties in the United States government that we believe establish that Kang should be permitted to travel to the United States under a work visa and we remain hopeful that such a resolution will be reached in the near future.
"We have no indication that Jung Ho has had a driving incident in a country other than Korea."
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