SSG's new commander Lee "will build a strong team"

SSG fired former coach Kim Won-hyung late last month.

LG coach Lee Ho-joon, among other candidates

SSG Landers, which parted ways with former coach Kim Won-hyung, has appointed former KT Wiz head coach Lee Sung-yong as its new head coach.

SSG announced on the 17th, "We have appointed former KT Head of Development Lee Sung-yong as the 9th head coach. We signed a contract for a total of 900 million won, including a down payment of 300 million won and an annual salary of 300 million won, for two years."

SSG fired former head coach Kim Won-hyung on March 31.

In his first season at the helm of SSG, Kim failed to reach the postseason with a sixth-place finish in 2021, but last year he led SSG to the overall title. They went wire-to-wire to take the top spot in the regular season, never losing it, and swept the Kiwoom Heroes in the Korean Series four games to two.

This year, SSG made it to the semi-playoffs after finishing the regular season in third place, but lost three straight games to the NC Dinos to make an early exit from the fall baseball stage.

Despite reaching the postseason for the second consecutive year, SSG chose to part ways with Kim. After last season, the team re-signed Kim for three years and a total of 2.2 billion won, but he was fired after just one year.

At the time of Kim's dismissal, SSG said, "The next coach will be someone who understands the direction of the club and can bring about a more active generation change."

Since Kim's dismissal, rumors have abounded. Most recently, it was widely reported that SSG was interviewing LG Twins hitting coach Lee Ho-joon. Former major leaguers Park Chan-ho and Choo Shin-soo, who currently plays for SSG, were also rumored to be in the running.

During the Korean Series, SSG's choice for manager was Lee Sung-yong.

After graduating from Kyung Hee University and joining the Pacific Dolphins as the second overall pick in the 1994 rookie draft, Lee played for the Hyundai Unicorns and Heroes. He continued to play for the same team even after it was sold and renamed.

During his time with Hyundai, Lee won four Korean Series titles in 1998, 2000, 2003, and 2004. He also served as captain for five years.

After 18 seasons and 2001 games, Lee retired in 2011 with a career batting average of .281 with 162 home runs and 857 RBIs.

After working as a commentator from 2012 to 2013, Lee began his coaching career in 2014 as KT's hitting coach.

Lee continued his coaching career with KT until 2018 and served as KT's general manager from 2019 to 2021.

He became the sixth person in history to hold both the managerial and managerial positions, joining former KBO commissioner Park Jong-hoon, LG Twins manager Yeom Kyung-yup, current Sports TV commentator Yang Sang-moon, former KIA Tigers manager Jang Jeong-seok, and Hanwha Eagles manager Son Hyuk.

Lee, who served as KT's head coach from 2022 to 2023, left KT at the end of October to take the helm of SSG.

SSG said, "We have appointed a new head coach with the goal of continuous development and operational paradigm innovation. We selected candidates who can actively execute communicative leadership and team remodeling. We set evaluation criteria such as essential competencies and virtues for each field, and after an in-depth interview to discuss the club's direction and baseball values, we selected Lee as the new manager," said SSG.

"Based on his years of coaching and front office experience, he has a strong knowledge of the development system and KBO baseball trends, and his insight into seasonal operations makes him the right person to reach the club's goals in a short period of time," he said.

"Based on open communication and mutual respect, he will be able to maximize the potential of the coaching staff and individual players," the statement added. "He will be able to lead a united team by forming a strong trust relationship with player-centered thinking."

"I am honored to be appointed as the head coach of SSG and sincerely thank the club for the opportunity. Above all, I will take responsibility for the huge task of performance and development, and together with the coaching staff, players, and front office, I will lay the foundation for a strong team that can achieve good results every year," he said.

"It's a great feeling to be back in Incheon again. I will fulfill my duties with the goal of restructuring the team and growing prospects to meet the expectations of the fans."

Lee will kick off his official schedule with an inauguration ceremony in Songdo, Incheon on May 21. 슬롯사이트