Unusual Start of 8th Baseball Team

“We will announce (the sponsor) at 4:30 p.m.” (11:00 a.m.)

“We will postpone the announcement of the sponsor and the coach to tomorrow.” (1:30 p.m.)

“We will announce it at 5 p.m.” (3:20 p.m.)

Over several hours’ time, Centennial Investment changed their words. After several whimsical changes, the final words were, “We signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a company on good conditions.”

Park Roh-joon, head of the 8th baseball team owned by Centennial, held a press conference in the Baseball Hall in southern Seoul on Monday. At first, he said he would announce the main sponsor capable of financing more than 9 billion won per year, but neither the name of the company nor the terms of the contract was confirmed. He said that even if a contract was signed, he would not disclose the amount.

Park said, “Today, at 2 p.m. we signed an MOU. The formal contract will be signed after the Lunar New Year’s holidays. We have already received a considerable amount of deposit.”

In an interview with several media on Sunday, Park said that the company is an IT financial firm based in Hong Kong, which prepares to start business in Korea. He said, “(The company) wanted us to announce the conclusion of the MOU. We did not disclose the name in case of an unexpected situation.” This seems that Centennial Investment wants to prevent the firm from getting a free ride in case its name goes public before making the full payment. Park, however, said that the firm will sponsor more than the initial fee (12 billion won) every year on favorable conditions for more than five years.

The main sponsor is expected to run many businesses such as real estate, sports marketing, and leisure business by taking advantage of the team name both in Korea and China, not to mention promoting its name.

Lee Gwang-hwan, 60, chairman of the education committee of the Korea Baseball Organization and former LG Twins coach, was appointed head coach on a two-year contract with a 100 million won in initial payment and the same amount in annual salary. Lee started his coaching career in the OB Bears (now Doosan Bears) in 1989, and worked at LG and Hanwha. Former Lotte Giants coach Kang Byeong-cheol was named second division coach, and former LG coach Lee soon-cheol will be in charge of the first division. Kim Si-Jin, Hyundai Unicorns coach, was notified by the team that the contract won’t be renewed, the day before.

Lee said, “Park, who was my student when I was at OB, often asked about the management of a baseball team, and asked me to help (as a coach) when Centennial Investment was confirmed to take over the eight team on Jan. 30.” When asked about the formation of players, he said, “Recruiting players such as trade is the team leader’s work. That is the way the Major League works. What a coach needs to do is do his best in the play.”

why@donga.com