The rumor of Park Chan-ho's 8 billionth bubble could disappear. Possibility of aggressive investment dominoes by stolen teams. Is it really the beginning of the frenzy?

Nov 19, 2025

FA's biggest fish Park Chan-ho signed a four-year contract with Doosan for a total of 8 billion won. Photo courtesy = Doosan Bears

Cho signed a four-year contract with Doosan, the original team, for a total of KRW 1.6 billion. Photo courtesy = Doosan Bears

Except for Kang Baek-ho, who is considering going to the Major League, Park Chan-ho, who was considered the biggest fish in the FA market, finally signed an official contract with the Doosan Bears for four years and 8 billion won, cutting the first tape of the 2026 FA market. Doosan announced Park Chan-ho's contract in the morning, followed by a second contract worth 1.6 billion won for four years in the afternoon with Cho.

The FA market's benchmark has been set as the largest fish signed a contract of 8 billion won. The possibility of surprising fans has increased as FA contracts are made quickly in the future.

Everyone only looked at Park Chan-ho's contract. As Doosan was already known, attention was paid to the size of the contract. There were rumors of a specific amount of 8 billion won for four years, and the contract was announced as it was. The guarantee amount was 7.8 billion won and the incentive was 200 million won.

Now, with Park Chan-ho's contract announced, other FA are expected to find the nest quickly. Since the largest fish contract is worth 8 billion won, other players are likely to be priced according to the standard.

In the case of the team that had in mind to recruit Park Chan-ho, there is a possibility that they may be more aggressive in recruiting players because there are bullets, which could lead to a higher ransom for subsequent contractors.

A game between the LG Twins and the Hanwha Eagles in Game 1 of the Korean Series at Jamsil Stadium on the 26th. LG Kim Hyun-soo is cheering after hitting a timely hit with two outs and runners on the first and second bases in the bottom of the sixth inning. Jamsil = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.10.26/

Game 2 of the Korean Series between Hanwha and LG at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 27th. Park Hae-min is doing batting training. Jamsil= Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.10.27/

In the case of Kim Hyun-soo, who became an FA again after his plus-two-year contract was canceled, a three-way race is taking place with his team LG Twins, his former team Doosan Bears, and KT Wiz, who want a central hitter. KT entered the recruitment race to catch Park Chan-ho, but failed to reach a contract, so it can aggressively use the remaining reserves to recruit other FA.

If Kang Baek-ho says he will stay in Korea, not the U.S., the FA market may fluctuate again.

KT is showing interest in Park Hae-min as well as Kim Hyun-soo. There may be a situation where Kim Hyun-soo and Park Hae-min go to KT together.

In reality, it seems unlikely that LG will catch both Kim Hyun-soo and Park Hae-min. In the past, I would have caught it of course, but now I have a salary cap, so I can't just spend money. Depending on who signs the contract first between Kim Hyun-soo and Park Hae-min, LG may invest more to catch at least one.

Teams that missed Park Chan-ho due to the Park Chan-ho contract can actively sign other player contracts, and teams that lose players can invest with the remaining money.

There is also a possibility that there will be a bubble controversy over the ransom of other players who will sign contracts in the future rather than Park Chan-ho's ransom. A team that needs to reinforce its power has to make an inevitable choice.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.