S. Korea's Go association apologizes over disputed rules

South Korea's Go association on Tuesday apologized over disputed rules that led Chinese Go player Ke Jie to withdraw from the decisive third game of the LG Cup finals last week.

The Korea Baduk Association said in a statement that it apologizes to the Go fans who had high expectations for the January 23 final match between world-class players Ke and South Korea's Byun Sang-il.

The winner of the LG Cup, governed by South Korea's Go rules, was determined in an unprecedented manner due to a violation regarding where to place captured stones.

The KBA acknowledged that the rules, revised in November, had been pre-notified but said Chinese players may not have had sufficient time to adapt.

Expressing hope that the incident would not damage trust between South Korea and China, the KBA called for the issues to be resolved smoothly. The association also pledged to hold discussions with Chinese and Japanese Go associations to establish unified rules for the game, known as weiqi in China and baduk in South Korea.

The controversy erupted during the third game of the finals when Ke was penalized for failing to place a captured stone on the lid of the container. He requested a rematch, which was denied, and then withdrew from the match.

Ke had also been penalized during the second game for lifting stones without placing them on the container's lid. He lost that game to Byun.

According to the revised Go rules of South Korea, if a captured stone is not placed on the lid of the container, the player will receive a warning and a 2-point penalty. Two warnings will lead to a forfeit.