Jung Ho Kang's 8-Month Sentence for DUI Charges Suspended for 2 Years

Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Jung Ho Kang is free to return to the team with his legal trouble behind him for the moment.

According to Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News, Kang received an eight-month jail sentence that is suspended for two years. As Yoo explained, the player won't have to serve if he remains clean in that time.

Per Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Kang fled the scene of a DUI accident, which was his third charge of driving under the influence since 2009.

"I deeply regret what I have done," Kang told Yonhap News before his hearing. "If I can get one last chance, I will become an exemplary player to earn respect from everyone."

He entered a treatment program at the beginning of February, which was recommended to him by a joint panel of the MLB and player's union.

The 29-year-old is heading into his third season with the Pirates after joining the team from the Korean Baseball Organization in 2015. In two years, he has posted a .273 batting average with 36 home runs and 120 RBI in 229 games.

Neither the Pirates nor the league office have announced additional discipline for Kang.