Samsung Thunders Gain from Lee Sang-min’s Popularity

The Seoul Samsung Thunders basketball team first launched its official website after the 1997-1998 season. The total number of registered members on the site, which stayed at 8,000 as of last week, saw 1,000 new members on May 30 alone. More than ten percent of the previous number joined the site on a single day. It was a triumph for the Thunders, who just drafted Lee Sang-min, a nationwide basketball star. Lee, formerly a member of the KCC Egis, was welcomed by his enthusiastic fans on the Thunders site.

Jeong Seong-sul, PR director of the team, said, “Lee’s popularity is much higher than we expected. Increasingly, more fans are asking about next season’s ticket sales. We are already looking forward to next season.”

In stark contrast, KCC is facing a great deal of criticism from its fans for letting Lee go. Conscious of angry fans, the team owner summoned a meeting to discuss ways to assuage the furious fans and the distracted team. At the news of Lee’s departure, fans rushed to the KCC Egis website to express their disappointment saying, “Bye Bye” and “I am leaving” on the site bulletin board. KCC also indefinitely postponed events to celebrate its contracts with free-lance players Seo Jang-hoon and Lim Jae-hyeon, which were scheduled for June 1. Seo and Chu Seung-kyun of KCC even called the Thunders’ coach Ahn Jun-ho to dissuade him from drafting Lee before Samsung made its final decision.

Amid the mixed reactions to the drafting of a top basketball star, Lee appeared in a press conference on May 31 in his new Samsung uniform with the number ‘11’ on the back, the same number he wore for his previous team. Recollecting his late ordeal, Lee was close to tears while saying, “I am trying to understand KCC’s perspective. I am deeply grateful to my supportive fans. I feel very welcomed by my new team and I will do my best for the team.”

He went on to add, “I really wanted to play with Seo Jang-hoon once again. I heard he is having a hard time because he thinks I was let go because of him. I guess our bond ended when we graduated from university.”

kjs0123@donga.com