[MyDaily = Reporter Kim Hee-su] Some online trolls behaved so shamefully they embarrassed their own countrymen.
Taiwan watched the Group C finale between South Korea and Australia at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) closely. Under the tournament tiebreaker rules — head-to-head followed by runs allowed per inning — Taiwan still had a path to the quarterfinals. In fact, Taiwan even had a better mathematical chance of advancing than Korea.
But Taiwan’s dream evaporated. Korea satisfied the strict condition of a +5 run differential while allowing two or fewer runs with a 7-2 win, edging out Australia and Taiwan to reach the quarterfinals.
That outcome sparked an absurd backlash. Some Taiwanese fans — who would have advanced if Korea had won 8-3, which would have given Taiwan the lowest runs-allowed-per-inning — began accusing Moon Bo-kyung’s strikeout in the top of the ninth (two outs, runner on first in a 7-2 game) of being intentional to eliminate them. Moon’s social media was flooded with abusive posts from those thoughtless fans, which attacked her personally and even criticized the country as a whole.
A moment of reflection makes how unfair those accusations were perfectly clear. First, Moon had no motive to take an intentional strikeout out of spite to eliminate Taiwan. Korea had no luxury to try to engineer a loss that would benefit another team.
Second, Australia’s bottom of the ninth finished scoreless, so Moon’s strikeout ultimately had no bearing on Taiwan’s chance to advance. If Moon had hit a home run or an RBI in the top of the ninth, Korea’s closer Cho Byung-hyun would likely have been even more comfortable — making it even less likely Korea would have allowed the runs Taiwan needed.
Taiwanese baseball fans knew that. Many, embarrassed by the actions of a few, posted apologies and messages of regret on Moon’s social media. Comments included, “I hope Taiwanese people stop being so embarrassing. I apologize to Korean fans,” and, “Moon’s hitting is terrific. Let’s see another great matchup in the next tournament.”
Those apology posts have since gathered many “likes,” helping to normalize Moon’s comment section. Korea, Taiwan, and Australia all gave their all, and Group C remained one of the tournament’s most compelling pools until the final out. Fans should not belittle or distort those efforts — such thoughtless behavior is unacceptable from supporters of any country’s baseball team.
