‘Grandson of the Wind’ Lee Jeong-hoo (25) is leaving for the Major League Baseball (MLB) with a big gift for his former team, Kiwoom Heroes.

With Lee Jeong-hoo signing a huge contract, Kiwoom will be able to pocket up to $18.825 million (about 24.7 billion won) in transfer fees.

Local media such as MLB.com and The Athletic quoted sources on the 13th (Korean time) and said, “Lee Jung-hoo signed a six-year, $113 million (approximately 148.4 billion won) contract with San Francisco. “This contract includes an opt-out after four years,” the report said. If you declare to opt out, you can give up the remaining contract and enter the free agent (FA) market.

The size of the contract exceeds expectations. Local media predicted that Lee Jung-hoo would sign a contract worth a total of $60 million (about 78.8 billion won) over 4 to 5 years.

However, as a heated recruitment battle took place, a contract worth more than $100 million was signed.

It is the largest among players who went directly to MLB through the posting system. It surpassed the previous largest contract, six years and $36 million, set when Ryu Hyun-jin signed a contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers in December 2012.

Even if the scope is expanded with Korean big leaguer free agent contracts, Lee Jeong-hoo still ranks second in total total.

The highest total of all time is Choo Shin-soo (now SSG), who signed a 7-year contract worth $130 million when he signed with the Texas Rangers in December 2013.

By successfully signing a large contract, Lee Jeong-hoo was able to give a big gift to his family's team.

The contract has not yet been officially announced, but considering the six-year, $113 million guaranteed amount, San Francisco must pay Kiwoom $18.825 million in posting fees.

According to the current Korea-US professional baseball agreement, a transfer fee is paid to the original team according to the guaranteed contract amount presented to the player by the MLB club.

If the total guaranteed contract amount is less than $25 million, 20% of this amount is paid to the former affiliated club. If the amount is between $25 million and $50 million, 20% of $25 million ($5 million) will be added and 17.5% will be added to the amount over $25 million.

If the total guaranteed amount exceeds $50 million, 20% of $25 million, 17.5% of $25 to $50 million, and 15% of the amount exceeding $50 million are all added up and paid to all clubs.

If there is a bonus given to Lee Jeong-hoo in addition to the guaranteed amount, 15% of this amount is added to the transfer fee.

If Lee Jeong-hoo declares an opt-out after four years, the guaranteed amount will be reduced, and the amount Kiwoom will pocket could be reduced to about $13 million (about 17.1 billion won).

However, it falls short of the all-time highest transfer fee for a player who went directly to MLB through the posting system in the KBO League.

Until 2017, the structure was that the club that wrote down the largest posting amount had sole negotiating rights. When Ryu Hyun-jin signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in December 2012, the Dodgers paid a transfer fee of 25,737,737 dollars and 33 cents, which remains the highest transfer fee ever.

Lee Jeong-hoo is the fourth player to advance to MLB through the posting system after playing for Kiwoom, following Kang Jeong-ho, Park Byeong-ho (currently KT Wiz), and Kim Ha-seong (San Diego Padres). 카지노사이트랭크

Previously, Kiwoom received a considerable amount of transfer fee.

At the end of 2014, Kang Jung-ho, who played as the starting shortstop, announced his intention to enter the MLB, and Pittsburgh took exclusive negotiating rights by paying $5,002,015. Kang Jung-ho signed a 4+1 year contract worth a total of $16.5 million.

At the end of 2015, Byung-ho Park negotiated with the Minnesota Twins, who wrote down a posting amount of $12.85 million, and signed a four-year contract with a total guaranteed amount of $12 million.

Ha-seong Kim, who entered the MLB after the 2020 season, signed a 4+1 year contract with San Diego for up to $32 million. At the time, the size of the guaranteed contract was 4 years and $28 million, and San Diego paid $5.525 million (about 7.2 billion won) to Kiwoom.

After reports of Lee Jung-hoo's contract came out, Kiwoom general manager Koh Hyeong-wook said, "The fact that he signed a contract worth more than $100 million means that Lee Jung-hoo's value was evaluated very highly. “Lee Jung-hoo has received a reward for his efforts,” he said, adding, “I hope he stays healthy and shows good performance when he goes to MLB.” 섯다