700 million won > 2.1 billion won, is this right? The shocking reality of the 2.1 billion won down payment in Toronto, Park Joon-hyun, the real reason why the 700 million won down payment in Kiwoom is more appreciated
Sep 26, 2025
|
|
It is a problem that even elementary school students can easily guess. Of course, the answer is 2.1 billion won. Then let's revise the question a little bit. First, we need to add some detailed explanations to the options.
Option ① 'Despite the heinous risk of 0% success rate ever, the price of having to endure an average of five years of poor minor league life alone in another strange and expensive country in order to succeed in the world's best major league, KRW 2.1 billion of which nearly 50% should be excluded in taxes.'
Option ② 'Coaches who are anxious to successfully raise prospective owners stick together almost every day to guide them at the level of private lessons, and receive 700 million won in a comfortable and high-probability environment where they continue to receive the hot attention of their parents and loyal KBO fans (of course, taxes are less than 1)'
Now, which of the two options is '2.1 billion' and '700 million' with a higher value. It may be difficult to answer immediately. However, there are actually people who have made different choices.
|
Seo Moon-joon officially joined the Toronto Blue Jays in the Major League Baseball on the 25th (Korea time). Toronto gave a deposit of as much as $1.5 million (about 2.1 billion won) to Seo Do-jun, who has a confident physique of 1m96 and a maximum speed of 155km and excellent ability to play breaking balls. It's a fairly large amount, and it means Toronto has high expectations for Seo Do-jun.
The main character of Option 2 is Park Joon-hyun, a third-year pitcher at Cheonan Bukil High School who was nominated by the Kiwoom Heroes as the No. 1 overall in the first round in this year's KBO rookie draft.
Park Joon-hyun was evaluated as a 'high school pitcher Big 3' along with Seo Moon-joon and Kim Sung-joon (Gwangju Il High School), but he was the only one of the three to participate in the KBO League draft. Kim Sung-joon signed a $1.2 million contract with the Texas Rangers in May.
|
In other words, three top prospects, who were evaluated at almost the same level in high school, were divided into two paths. The two (Document-jun Kim Seong-jun) chose to go to the U.S. They received a down payment of $1.5 million and $1.2 million, respectively. It is equivalent to about 2.1 billion won and 1.7 billion won in Korean won. It is one of the most expensive contracts for foreign rookies.
On the other hand, Park Joon-hyun, unlike them, remained in Korea and received a down payment of 700 million won. It is the highest down payment for rookies this season, but it is less than the amount received by Seo Moon-joon or Kim Sung-joon. Then, did Park Joon-hyun make a stupid choice.
|
|
A father who sent his son, who was considered a high school prospect, to the U.S. once said this. "Even if you get a down payment of $1 million, there's actually nothing left. Excluding taxes, it costs a lot of living there. If you stay in the minor leagues for a long time, all the money you receive as a down payment will disappear." It's a very realistic story.
In particular, looking at past cases, the possibility of a high school graduate's success in the major leagues is very slim.
In fact, since Park Chan-ho, then a student at Hanyang University, signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1994 and became the beginning of the `Korean Major Leaguer', numerous amateur prospects have dreamed of 'success in the Major League' and chose to go to the U.S. for 30 years. However, few cases have actually been successful. In particular, pitchers returned to Korea without a single exception, all failing. There is a 0% chance of success.
|
None of the three pitchers 'successful major leaguers' After going 16-18 with a 4.83 ERA in four major league seasons, Baek Cha-seung faced a 'release ending'. It is the only case that has surpassed 10 Tongsan. Bong Jung-geun played 78 ⅓ innings for a total of three seasons, leaving a total of 7 wins, 4 losses, 1 save, 2 holds, and an ERA of 5.17. Ryu Je-guk also returned to Korea after recording just one win (three losses) and a 7.49 ERA in three seasons (2006-2008).
Of course, there is no law for Moon Jae-joon and Kim Sung-joon to follow in the footsteps of their failed seniors. It could be the 'first success story of a high school graduate', or he signed a contract as a pitcher like Choo Shin-soo, but he can switch to a batter and succeed. But it's a very difficult challenge in terms of 'probabilistic'. It must exceed the cumulative probability '0%'.
As a result, their down payment is the price of putting their youth and future on the challenge of a '0% chance of success in history'. In that sense, it is by no means a large amount of money. In the past, there were prospects who left for the U.S. with a down payment of more than $1 million. We need to think about how they are now. I just hope that the future of Seo Moon-joon and Kim Sung-joon will not be like that.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
