Pro-baseball league team KT Wiz renewed its contract with manager Lee Kang-cheol for three more years, the club said Wednesday.
"We have signed a three-year contract worth 2.4 billion won (US$1.79 million) with manager Lee," the team said in a press release.
He received a signing bonus of 600 million won and will make a salary of 600 million won per year, it added.
KT Wiz manager Lee Kang-cheol is seen in this file photo. (Yonhap)
KT Wiz manager Lee Kang-cheol is seen in this file photo. (Yonhap)
Under the contract, Lee will manage the team until the 2026 season, receiving the highest treatment among current Korean baseball club managers.
In comparison, SSG Landers manager Kim Won-hyong receives 2.2 billion won for three years, while LG Twins manager Youm Kyoung-youb receives 2.1 billion won for the same period.
Lee became the third manager of KT in 2019 and immediately led the team to become the first Korean pro-league club to surpass 70 wins and achieve a winning percentage of .500 in his first year.
He followed up that success with a second-place finish and a postseason advancement in 2020, the team's first since its founding. After the successful season, he renewed his contract with the club for three years and 2 billion won.
In 2021, he led KT to its first-ever combined championship. He also led the team to the postseason in the following year.
The final year of Lee's previous contract looked difficult at first, as the team suffered a number of injuries early in the season and fell to the bottom of the standings at one point. However, KT began to improve significantly in mid-June after the injured players returned, and finished the regular season in second place.
Ahead of the upcoming postseason, KT management decided to extend Lee's contract for another three years, citing his strong leadership.
"We were able to achieve good results thanks to the club's generous support and efforts," he said through the club. "I would like to thank the club and the CEO for renewing my contract, and I will continue to guide the players with a sense of responsibility," he added.
Source: Yonhap News Agency