New LG Twins Coach Signs Record Pact

“When it comes to competition, there’s no clear line between your enemies and allies.”

Kim Jae-bak (52), who has coached the Hyundai Unicorns for 11 years, will take the leadership at the LG Twins.

On October 20, the LG Twins announced its decision to hire Kim Jae-bak as its eighth head coach. The three-year employment contract with Kim will cost the LG Twins a total of 1.55 billion won, including the initial payment of 500million won and the annual salary of 350 million won.

He will go down in Korea’s baseball history as the first coach who received over 300 million won a year. In terms of the total sum, he set quite a record. The previous record belongs to Sun Dong-ryeol, who signed a five-year, 1.5billion-won (initial payment of 500million won and annual salary of 200million won) contract with the Samsung Lions in 2004.

Kim will be returning to the LG Twins, once known as the MBC, where he had played for 10 years from 1982, since he left the MBC for the Amorepacific after the end of the 1991 season.

Kim’s return to the LG Twins as coach would help silence some rumors.

For one thing, it was rumored that Kim had an uneasy relationship with the LG Twins because Kim, a big star of the MBC, moved to the Amorepacific after the end of the 1991 season to play baseball for a few more years.

It is said that at that time, the MBC, now known as the LG Twins, was eager to sign another contract with Kim not as a player, but a coach. Kim, however, wanted to remain as a player and left the LG Twins without hesitation. Afterwards, the word occasionally got out that Kim might take the leadership at the LG Twins. But the team’s management did not approve of such employment.

However, things have changed this year because the LG Twins fell to the bottom of the professional baseball league for the first time since its creation and was desperate for someone who will rescue it. Kim, who led his former team to four consecutive victories at the Korea Series, was the most suitable candidate.

Kim Young-soo, LG Twins CEO, said, “Our records for the last several years have been disappointing to our fans. We concluded that Kim is capable of leading the LG Twins to the very top.”

The Hyundai Unicorns has made an early decision to renew its contract with Kim, but failed to persuade Kim to remain.

Kim revealed his resolve, saying, “I will miss being at the Hyundai Unicorns. But it has to happen someday, and I thought this would be an opportunity to others. I am delighted and feel at home being back at the LG Twins. My experience over the years will prepare me for making the LG Twins an ‘invincible team.’”

uni@donga.com