Shohei Ohtani's former translator, Kazuhei Mizuhara, who will hear the court's sentence on Feb. 6, plead with the court, saying Mizuwon's salary is too low to repay a huge debt totaling $40.7 million. The Athletic reported that in the Angel Age of Otani, Suwon's annual salary was $85,000, which rose to $250,000 in 2022, and doubled to $500,000 after going to Dodger.

The median annual income of white American households is about $85,000, Asian families are $110,000, major league players earn $760,000 this year, and Ohtani received $2 million last year. If it weren't for the fraud case, Suwon would have expected to spend at least $5 million in Dodge 10 years, not counting his extra income, such as advertising endorsements with Ohtani and even Otani once giving him a Porsche Cayenne.

However, Suwon emphasized through his lawyer that he was being squeezed, he couldn't live too far from Ohtani, the cost of living in Los Angeles was expensive, and he had to afford his wife Naomi's air ticket. "My mother stopped working as a nurse because she was surrounded by a lot of Asians, and my wife and I were stalked and harassed. I knew I was to blame, but I never thought my family would be disgraced."

Due to the time difference between the United States and Japan, Suwon claims to communicate with Japanese sponsors and agencies, essentially on call 24 hours a day, and has to deal with many daily chores, and the longest consecutive vacation of the year is only 4 days from Chinese New Year's Eve to New Year's Eve. He also stressed that he did not blame Ohtani, who has always respected Ohtani and worked hard to help him become a great player, "I am very sorry that I betrayed his trust."

"When Japanese players come to the U.S., they bring multiple staff members with them to take care of various tasks, such as drivers, trainers, cooks, off-court interpreters, etc. But Shohei only took me with him, so I had to do most of the work." Suwon wrote, "I drove for him, ran groceries, handled all kinds of chores, and was on call almost 24 hours a day. In addition, I have to communicate with his American agent on a daily basis and his mother on a weekly basis, who is in charge of his Japanese side. Considering the busy schedule and the time difference, I often talk on the phone in the middle of the night and can barely sleep."

He mentioned that this situation will be more serious in the off-season, and for such a busy workload, he thinks that Ohtani's salary is not in line with it, and the monthly salary is only 20,000 yen during the season, and the higher salary in the off-season is 400,000 yen, but because they are all signed once a year, he does not dare to complain for fear of being fired. However, he also explained that the salary he received from the Los Angeles Angels was $85,000 in 2018 to $250,000 in 2023, and explained that his considerable transportation and lodging expenses caused him to make ends meet, and finally decided to take a risk after meeting Matt Boyer by chance.

However, Suwon finally expressed regret, "I know that my actions will affect my whole life, and I don't make excuses for myself. I'm just begging the court to show me a little mercy. I have a lot of admiration for Shohei, both as a person and as a baseball player, and I'm committed to helping him be the best version of himself on the court, and I'm sorry for betraying his trust." After three postponements of sentencing, Suwon's final sentence is expected to be pronounced on February 6, U.S. time.

Suwon, who will be deported from the United States after completing his sentence, is notorious for betraying his employer, and it may be difficult for him to pay off his debts in Japan in the future.