It is better than the 97.5 million won trade in compensation, which could be an unexpected surprise for a C-class catcher

Nov 06, 2025

It is better than the 97.5 million won trade in compensation, which could be an unexpected surprise for a C-class catcher
The KBO League exhibition game between Lotte and KIA at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 9th. KIA catcher Han Seung-taek checks the 'Peachcom' earphone. Busan = Song Jeong-heon Reporter's songs@sportschosun.com/2025.03.09/



I don't know if I can recruit an FA after losing less than the trade. Catcher Han Seung-taek is expected to be an unexpected surprise in the FA market.

KBO released the list of 30 FA-qualified players in 2026 on the 5th. KIA had to crack down on the largest number of internal FA this year, drawing attention early. Six players qualified, including infielder Park Chan-ho, pitcher Yang Hyun-jong Lee Joon-young, outfielder Choi Hyung-woo and catcher Han Seung-taek.

Currently, attention is being paid to Park Chan-ho, the biggest fish among the six. Since Park Chan-ho, the league's top shortstop FA is not expected to come out for the time being, so the ransom is running higher. It is expected that fierce competition for recruitment from KIA, KT Wiz, and Lotte Giants is expected to be made so that it does not sound absurd that it starts at least 8 billion won.




After Park Chan-ho, Yang Hyun-jong, Choi Hyung-woo, Cho Sang-woo, and Lee Joon-young are mentioned as targets for crackdown. Yang Hyun-jong and Choi Hyung-woo believe that KIA will catch them in the symbolic players representing KIA, while Cho Sang-woo and Lee Joon-young are essential bullpens for KIA.

Han Seung-taek is relatively out of interest. Recently, the two-man system of Han Jun-su, who is raising veteran Kim Tae-gun and the next master of KIA, has been strong.

KIA is considering the main effect as the third catcher to compete with Han Jun-su next season. Joo Hyo-sang has almost spent time in the second division as he has undergone elbow surgery twice since he was traded to KIA in November 2022. Now, he has cleared all his elbow injuries, and is currently sweating at the Okinawa closing camp in Japan, dreaming of joining the first team next season.




It is better than the 97.5 million won trade in compensation, which could be an unexpected surprise for a C-class catcher
The 2023 KBO League KIA Tigers and LG Twins game was held at Gwangju Kia Champions Field on the 9th. KIA catcher Han Seung-taek is warming up. Gwangju = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com/2023.09.09/
It is better than the 97.5 million won trade in compensation, which could be an unexpected surprise for a C-class catcher
KIA Han Seung-taek hits a game between KIA and Hanwha at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 2nd. Daejeon = Reporter's book@sportschosun.com/2025.09.02/
With a cool head, KIA is moving toward giving younger Han Jun-su and Joo Hyo-sang more opportunities than Han Seung-taek, who was born in 1994. Han Seung-taek may have been inclined to transfer as he only got 20 games in 2024 and 15 games this year in the first team.

Stable backup catcher It is worth pursuing one win in the team you want. Han Seung-taek is a FAC grade and has a very small scale of compensation. You only need to pay 150% of the previous year's salary, and Han Seung-taek received an annual salary of 65 million won this year. The compensation is only 97.5 million won.

With Han Seung-taek's compensation scale, the batting team can feel much less pressure than when trying to trade. This is because the compensation amount of less than 100 million won is much less burdensome than giving up the right to nominate players or rookies. For Han Seung-taek, this FA could be a new opportunity.




Han Seung-taek was a prospect who graduated from Deoksu High School and joined the Hanwha Eagles in the third round of the 2013 rookie draft. He transferred to KIA as a compensation player for FA outfielder Lee Yong-kyu, who signed with Hanwha in 2014. His overall KBO league performance is 628 games, a batting average of 0.208 (235 hits in 1,132 times at bat), 19 homers and 118 RBIs.

It is better than the 97.5 million won trade in compensation, which could be an unexpected surprise for a C-class catcher
The KBO League exhibition game between KIA and Samsung held at KIA Champions Field in Gwangju on the 16th. Han Seung-taek hit an RBI double in the second inning. Gwangju =Song Jeong-heon, Reporter Song@sportschosun.com/2025.03.16/




This article was translated by Naver AI translator.