What will be the total amount of his FA contract if Ko returns to KBO?
Attention is focusing on whether Ryu Hyun-jin’s eight-year, 17 billion won and Yang Eui-ji’s 4+4277 billion won can be exceeded.
There was once a theory that Ko Woo-seok’s ransom was 8 years and 20 billion won. 룸알바
Yang Eui-ji, who is considered the best catcher in active duty, signed a contract for 27.7 billion won from the FA twice.
In December 2018, he signed a four-year contract worth 12.5 billion won with the NC Dinos. This was the second FA contract ever made by Lee Dae-ho when he signed with the Lotte Giants in 2017 as a free agent.
Four years later, in November 2022, Yang Eui-ji became an FA again and signed a 4+2 year 15.2 billion won contract with his former Doosan Bears.
In terms of the total amount, it was a four-year contract that exceeded 15.1 billion won signed with SSG Landers as Kim Kwang-hyun returned from his major league career in the U.S.
Lee Dae-ho also returned after a year in the Major League and signed a four-year, 15 billion won contract with the Lotte Giants.
Kim Hyun-soo signed a four-year contract with LG for 11.5 billion won after returning from the U.S. in 2017, and again stamped with LG for up to 11.5 billion won for 4+2 years.
Yoon Seok-min signed a four-year, 8 billion won contract with KIA as he returned to the KBO League with a one-year experience in the minor league without taking the major league stage.
Returning to the Hanwha Eagles this year, Ryu signed an eight-year contract worth 17 billion won. This is the highest ever paid in Korean pro baseball history.
Ahead of the 2024 season, Ko signed a two-year contract with the San Diego Padres for a total of 4.5 million U.S. dollars and about 5.9 billion won in currency at the time. He was paid up to 12.3 billion won (approx. 3 million dollars) in mutual options in 2026 and multiple incentives combined.
Up to 12.3 billion won for three years is not much different from 15 billion won for four years in the KBO League.
Ko, however, went to the U.S. because of his major league career rather than money.
Ko may return to the KBO league next year. He can just give up all the terms and conditions of his contract.
However, he will also earn as much as 2.25 million U.S. dollars next year. That is a huge amount that he cannot give up. He may not return to the Major League again next year as he has strong commitment to participate in the Major League.