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‘Korean Monster’ Ryu Hyun-jin (37) returned to the KBO League 12 years after finishing his American Major League (MLB) career. On the 22nd, Hanwha Eagles announced that they had signed an 8-year contract with Ryu Hyun-jin for a total of 17 billion won (including opt-out, details of opt-out not disclosed upon agreement between both parties).

Hanwha Eagles general manager Son Hyeok, who recruited 'Korean Monster' Ryu Hyun-jin by breaking the record for the highest contract ever, expressed satisfaction, saying that Ryu Hyun-jin's addition will serve as an opportunity for the team's young players to grow further.

On the 22nd, the Hanwha club announced that it had signed a contract with Ryu Hyun-jin for an 8-year contract worth up to 17 billion won (including opt-out). This is the largest contract in KBO League history in both amount and duration.

With this contract, Ryu Hyun-jin, 37, will play for Hanwha until 2031, when he turns 44.

General Manager Son Hyuk expected that the addition of Ryu Hyun-jin would serve as an opportunity for the team's young resources such as Moon Dong-ju, Kim Seo-hyun, and Hwang Jun-seo to grow.

General Manager Son said, “With the addition of Ryu Hyun-jin, our strength will increase significantly. In recent years, as our team has been rebuilding, we have had more young players. Watching and learning from the experienced Ryu Hyun-jin will be a great help in our growth.” said.

In addition, he was satisfied, saying, “More than anything, the players will have the perception that ‘we are strong.’” He added, “The addition of Ryu Hyun-jin is considered to be a great reinforcement of the team’s strength, both in terms of power and mental aspect.”

When asked why it took so long to announce the contract, Director Son said, “Many people think it took a long time to agree on the contract, but after setting up the actual negotiation table, it only took about a week to reach an agreement.” He explained, “We reached an agreement on the technical aspects early on, and it took time to discuss detailed conditions.”

Hanwha Eagles General Manager Son Hyuk is watching players training at the '2023 Hanwha Spring Camp' held at Belbank Park in Mesa, Arizona, USA on the 18th (local time).

He continued, “One of the detailed contract conditions is that Ryu Hyun-jin is very interested in youth baseball, so he wanted to include a clause related to this in the contract.”

The actual contract included a clause in which the Hanwha Eagles and the Ryu Hyun-jin Foundation signed a business agreement (MOU) to jointly carry out social contribution activities such as youth baseball development.

Regarding the 8-year contract period, Director Son said, “Oh Seung-hwan, who recently signed with Samsung, will also be 44 years old when the contract period ends,” and “Ryu Hyun-jin will also be the same age when this contract period ends, but from the club’s perspective, Ryu Hyun-jin will be able to play for the team for 8 years.” “I thought I could do it,” he said.

In addition, he added, “If Ryu Hyun-jin completes the contract period, he will be able to surpass Hanwha legend Song Jin-woo’s record for being the oldest player to play, so the 8-year contract is also meaningful from a symbolic perspective.”

If Ryu Hyun-jin completes the entire contract period, he will be able to play until the age of 44, breaking the record of oldest player to play in a game (43 years, 7 months, 7 days) set by Song Jin-woo at Hanwha. 스포츠토토맨