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| Shinsegae Choo, who signed a contract with the E-Mart baseball team of Shinsegae Group for 2.7 billion won, returned home through Incheon International Airport on the 25th. © News1 |
“I think I’m feeling weird”
Shin-soo Choo (39) was a member of the Shinsegae Group E-Mart baseball team, and when he imagined visiting the Sajik Stadium in Busan, he burst into laughter.
Choo Shin-soo, who played in the major leagues for 16 years from 2005, burns his last spark as a baseball player in Korea.
‘Incheon’ was engraved on the uniform he wore when he left the arrival hall at Incheon International Airport on the 25th.
Born in Busan, Choo Shin-soo entered the KBO League as a player in the Shinsegae Group E-Mart baseball team, not the Lotte Giants he had long admired. Shin-soo Choo signed the highest annual salary of 2.7 billion won with Shinsegae. Among them, 1 billion won is donated for social contribution activities.
Choo Shin-soo said, “After consulting with my family, I made a difficult decision to go to Korea,” and “I came with a trembling and fluttering feeling.”
He said, “The KBO league was evaluated as a minor league level, but now it has risen a lot. As this is my first time playing in the KBO league, I will work hard with the attitude of learning,” he said. “SK acquired by Shinsegae is the most prestigious club in the KBO league and won several championships. The signboard has changed to Shinsegae, but I hope to continue that it is a’good team’.”
Choo Shin-soo joins the Shinsegae Team on March 11 after living in quarantine for two weeks at a pension in Gyeongnam. Unfortunately, on this day, Shinsegae will have a practice match with Lotte at Sajik Stadium.
I often bump into Lotte. On March 22nd and 23rd, two consecutive demonstration matches will be played at Sajik Stadium, and on April 3rd, Lotte is the opponent of the opening game of the KBO League.
Shin-soo Choo said, “There’s nothing special about dealing with Lotte. It’s the same regardless of which team I’m dealing with. Of course, I grew up as a baseball player watching Lotte Baseball since I was young, but now I’m doing my best as a player in Shinsegae. I will focus only on that.” said.
He is also waiting for a confrontation with Lee Dae-ho, a friend and Lotte’s key hitter. Shin-soo Choo emphasized, “It seems like it feels good to meet a friend anytime. However, as we have fought in the US, there is no particular difference in confrontation in Korea.”
However, it is a different story to visit Sajik Stadium, which used to be a’dream stadium’ for young Choo Shin-soo.
Shin-soo Choo said, “I feel really strange when I go to Sajik Stadium as a Shinsegae player. The last time I played at Sajik Stadium (before the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou) was training as a member of the baseball team.” I think this is new.”