"It's what other clubs are going through. There are still a lot of clubs that feel bad about it."

The Korean baseball community is angry at the embarrassing move taken by Daejeon City, which has the Hanwha home stadium to be newly opened this year. The Daejeon City Government recently sent an official letter to Hanwha asking them to rename the new stadium "Daejeon Hanwha Life Eagles Park." Hanwha, however, has already named its new stadium "Hanwha Life Ball Park" and made it known to the outside world. 스포츠토토
The new stadium is owned by the Daejeon City Government with budget. The project cost was 207.4 billion won (10.7 million U.S. dollars). Daejeon City added 143.8 billion won (14.6 million dollars) and Hanwha added 48.6 billion won (48.7 million dollars) to 15 billion won (18.8 million dollars) in state funds. All baseball stadiums are owned by local governments in their hometowns. The structure is designed to be rented by clubs at a rental fee. However, teams also contribute to some extent in the construction process of new stadiums these days. Hanwha will pay 48.6 billion won (46.8 million dollars) to the Daejeon City Government to receive right to use the stadium, naming rights and advertising rights for 25 years.

Hanwha gave the name of the stadium by banking on its major sponsor Hanwha Life Insurance, but the Daejeon Metropolitan Government suddenly asked for a new name. Of course, it is possible for the Daejeon Metropolitan Government to present its opinion on the name of the stadium. The problem is that the city had changed its mind two years ago with the opening of a new stadium (March) just around the corner, not when it signed a contract with Hanwha for the right to use the stadium. If normal, it would have been necessary to consult and coordinate with Hanwha on the name it wanted at the time of signing the contract, but it did not.

The Gwangju-Kia Champions Field, Kia's home stadium that opened in 2014, includes a clause that stipulates that Gwangju City will hand over the stadium name right to Kia when it signed an agreement with Kia to build a new stadium, but that "Gwangju" and "Kia" must be included in the name of the new stadium. The Daejeon Metropolitan Government has ignored such basic procedures. The city seems to have turned a blind eye to the basic principle that once the club's naming right is sold, it is no longer possible to intervene. "Based on the current behavior of Daejeon City, I can guess how much the city has interfered with Hanwha in all cases," said a baseball official.

When this was known, the Daejeon Metropolitan Government said, "We gave the right to use it, not the right to decide the name of the stadium." Hanwha tried to calm the scandal, saying, "The consultation is going well and we will cooperate with Daejeon City so that there is no disruption in the schedule such as the opening of a new stadium." The baseball community interpreted that "Hanwha was wary of Daejeon City." As criticism against Daejeon City intensified, Daejeon City reportedly informed it informally, "You can use Hanwha Life Ball Park as it is."

Local governments are not just a matter of specific regions. Due to the current law, which has no choice but to rent a baseball stadium from local governments, clubs cannot even defend themselves properly even if there are various unfair practices related to the operation of the stadium or advertising rights. Two years ago, the Seoul Metropolitan Government also unilaterally disclosed its plan to rebuild Jamsil Baseball Stadium, causing a stir to reschedule the seats at alternative stadiums due to resistance from baseball fans.

A baseball stadium is officially owned by a local government, but it is actually a public facility for baseball fans, so to speak, citizens. It is infrastructure for them, not the property of local governments. The number of spectators in Daejeon exceeded 10 million last year. The Daejeon Metropolitan Government expects that the city will use it as an opportunity to think about what is best for its citizens, rather than pretending to be the owner in secret.