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| Kiwoom Heroes Squad. 2020.11.2/News1 © News1 Reporter Lee Donghae |
Kiwoom Heroes, who had been engulfed in various controversies in the offseason, appointed a new CEO and apologized for the controversy over’baseball play’ by Chairman Heo Min. Now Kiwoom’s preparation for the 2021 season is drawing attention.
Kiwoom held the board of directors on the 31st and appointed Huh Hong (57), who served as the CEO of NHN Service, as the new CEO. Nominee Heo Hong is scheduled to officially take office as CEO after a general shareholders’ meeting in January.
Following the new CEO’s appointment, Kiwoom also announced an official apology from Chairman Heo Min. Chairman Huh, who was controversial for pitching against the second-team players, was recently sanctioned by the Korean Baseball Commission (KBO) for two months from suspension due to damage to dignity.
Kiwoom initially announced a dispute in court, saying, “We decided to receive the judgment of the judicial authorities.” However, Chairman Huh said on this day, “We apologize lately to the players and baseball officials who may have suffered any inconvenience related to unofficial pitching outside of training, and to the fans who are the foundation of the KBO League.” I will also withdraw,” he bowed his head.
With this, the controversy over raising children seems to be over. As for Kiwoom, the CEO was appointed through the general shareholders’ meeting, and contracts were signed with the manager and foreign players to begin preparing for the new season.
After the 2020 season, Kiwoom reviewed internal and external personnel to determine the final candidate for the manager. However, as the CEO became vacant afterwards, the appointment work was delayed, but now there is no reason to delay.
Kim Chi-hyun, director of Kiwoom Kim said, “It is difficult to predict the timing of the shareholders’ meeting remaining (until the appointment of the CEO),” he said.
When the appointment of the manager is completed, the foreign batter contract can also speed up. Kiwoom renewed his contract with foreign pitcher Eric Yokishi after the season ended and recruited new foreign pitcher Josh Smith. However, foreign hitters have not yet decided.
Amid the imminent advancement to the major leagues of Kim Ha-sung, the main hitter, the foreign batter’s performance in the 2021 season became important to Kiwoom. At least this season, players who can perform better than Taylor Motors and Edison Russell should be recruited in order to compete for the top ranks in 2021.
“We were continuing on with regards to foreign players,” said Kim. “It is ideal to catch a player who is excellent in both attack and defense, but if not, the priority is attack power.”