Kiwoom Heroes Lee Jeong-hoo (25) rewrote the history of the KBO league salary.
On the 20th, Kiwoom said, “We have completed annual salary contracts with all 51 people eligible for annual salary contracts for the 2023 season (excluding rookies, fostering, military retention, free agents, and foreign players).”
The one who caught the most attention in this announcement was, of course, Lee Jung-hoo. Lee Jeong-hoo, who has changed the previous salary record every year, played an active part in 142 games with a batting average of 3049 (193 hits in 553 bats), 파라오카지노 23 home runs, 113 RBIs, and an OPS of . Most hits) and won league MVP.
Lee Jung-hoo, who had his best season, was expected to have an all-time salary this time around. And he received 1.1 billion won and, as expected, received the best treatment to rewrite the all-time annual salary record. Kiwoom said, “Lee Jeong-hoo signed an annual salary contract of 1.1 billion won, an increase of 350 million won (46.7%) from last year’s 750 million won. It is the first time in the KBO league to record an annual salary of more than 1 billion won with a single-year contract, excluding special cases such as free agency, multi-year contracts, and returning to overseas players.”
Lee Jung-hoo, who received an annual salary of 750 million won last year, has already tied the record for non-FA 9th year salary (Jang Won-sam, 750 million won). Although the record has already been broken, it does not mean much, but it far exceeded the record of 550 million won, the highest annual salary in the seventh year, held by team senior Kim Ha-seong (San Diego), who entered the major leagues with 1.1 billion won this year.
Compared to his current status, Lee Jung-hoo’s start was not great. When he joined Kiwoom as the first pick in the 2017 rookie draft, he received a rookie contract of 200 million won, but it fell far short of the record of first place (Ki-joo Han, 1 billion won) and first place (Jae-young Jang, 900 million won) in the club. His rookie year salary was also 27 million won, the lowest salary at the time.
However, he won the Rookie of the Year award in 2017 and quickly emerged as a star representing the league. 10,000 won), 6th year (750 million won), and 7th year (1.1 billion won) all records were changed. The record for the highest annual salary in his 2nd year passed to Joon So-yeon (KT, 140 million won), but the record for the 7th year from the 3rd year is still held by Lee Jung-hoo.
Lee Jung-hoo, who plans to advance to the major leagues after the end of this season, took over as captain of the team this year. “Our team has a lot of young players. I think the reason why the coach entrusted me with the captaincy was to help young players adapt to the profession and help them when they are in difficult or difficult situations. Regardless of age or seniority, we will create an atmosphere where all players can always come comfortably and talk and share their concerns. In a good atmosphere, I will do my best to help the team rise to a higher level.”