"Need a pitcher who can cover 3~4 innings"… KIA in 4th place, Kim Gyu-seong's salary 90 million won

Despite a collapsed July pitching staff, KIA held on to 4th place. We break down the team ERA of 4.29, the loss of Kwak Do-gyu, and Kim Gyu-seong's 90 million won salary in numbers.

Translated from Korean with AI assistance. Read the original. Sources and original publication dates are retained.

Summary in three lines

As of July 29, 2026, by official KBO figures, KIA is in 4th place at 49 wins, 42 losses and 2 ties, with a winning percentage of 0.538.
Kim Gyu-seong's 2026 salary is 90 million won, up about 38% from 65 million won in 2025.
The team ERA is 4.29, 0.37 lower than last year's final figure of 4.66, but it shot up to 6.50 last week.

By the numbers alone, KIA lost an entire week last week. In the six-game stretch against Hanwha and Kiwoom, they went 1 win and 2 losses in each series. A team that has carried a 4.29 ERA all season put up 6.50 during that one week. Yet the standings didn't change. As of July 29, they are in 4th place at 49 wins, 42 losses and 2 ties.

KIA's pitching crisis: weekly team ERA of 6.50, 9th in the league

Namdo Ilbo reported on July 28 that KIA finished its six-game series against Hanwha and Kiwoom last week with a 1-2 record in each series, and that its weekly team ERA was 6.50, 9th in the league. The full season tells a different story. By official KBO figures, the 2026 team ERA is 4.29, which is 0.37 lower than the final 2025 figure of 4.66 (as of July 29, 2026).

The bullpen was what wobbled. According to OSEN, left-handed key reliever Kwak Do-gyu (22) was removed from the first-team roster on July 25 with a left adductor strain and will be re-examined in about 2 weeks. He had been putting up 1 win, 7 holds and a 2.12 ERA in 24 games this season. KIA manager Lee Beom-ho said, "We need a pitcher who can cover 3~4 innings."

Kim Gyu-seong's 90 million won salary ranks 4th among KIA's 7 infielders

While the pitching staff wobbled, it was Kim Gyu-seong who held down the center of the infield. Kim Gyu-seong's 2026 salary, per the official KBO records room, is 90 million won. Having risen by 25 million won from 65 million won in 2025, the raise works out to about 38% (2,500÷6,500). His signing bonus when he joined in 2016 was 40 million won.

2026 salaries of KIA's registered infielders (KBO, as of July 29, 2026)

Rank	Name	2026 salary
1	Kim Seon-bin	600 million won
2	Kim Do-yeong	250 million won
3	Ha Ju-seok	200 million won
4	Kim Gyu-seong	90 million won
5	Park Min, Yoon Do-hyeon, Jeong Hyeon-chang	55 million won each

Lined up, Kim Gyu-seong ranks 4th of 7, and the gap with 3rd-ranked Ha Ju-seok (32) is 110 million won. The gap with the three players just below him is 35 million won. Newspim reported that on July 23, KIA and Hanwha officially announced a one-for-one trade swapping Ha Ju-seok for right-handed reliever Lee Hyeong-beom.

Kim Gyu-seong is 29 years old, with a .213 batting average in 571 career games

Kim Gyu-seong was born on March 8, 1997, and as of July 30, 2026, is 29 years old by international age. He is a 185cm, 88kg right-throwing, left-hitting infielder who wears number 14. A graduate of Sunrin Internet High School, he joined KIA as the 63rd pick in the 7th round of the 2016 second-stage rookie draft and made his first-team debut on May 17, 2020, in Gwangju against Doosan. He has never worn another uniform, making him a one-club man.

His stats are not flashy. By official KBO records, he has a career .213 batting average with 163 hits, 9 home runs and 71 RBIs in 571 games. This season, he is hitting .225 with 38 hits, 26 RBIs and a 0.585 OPS in 194 plate appearances over 87 games (as of July 29, 2026). Even so, he was on the roster for the 2024 Korean Series championship, and this year he is holding down the shortstop spot.

KIA's infield after the Ha Ju-seok trade, and the variables that remain

The infield makeup has been flipped twice this season alone. On May 26, KIA requested waivers on Asia Quota infielder Jared Dale and changed direction by bringing in Japanese pitcher Shirakawa Keisho. Manager Lee Beom-ho explained at the time, "We considered infield development and the need for pitching." The name that arrived two months later is Ha Ju-seok.

What remains, in the end, is the pitching staff. Namdo Ilbo reporter Yang U-cheol projected that the bullpen will only get relief once recently shaky starters such as Oller, Shirakawa and Hwang Dong-ha do their part, while Edaily reporter Lee Seok-mu reported that KIA intends to move Lee Ui-ri to a long-relief role in the second half to fill out its depth. The results of Kwak Do-gyu's re-examination are not yet out. Standings and stats are based on official KBO figures as of July 29, 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Q. How much is Kim Gyu-seong's salary?

According to the official KBO records room, his 2026 salary is 90 million won. It rose by 25 million won from 65 million won in 2025, and his signing bonus when he joined in 2016 was 40 million won.

Q. How old is Kim Gyu-seong?

He was born on March 8, 1997, and as of July 30, 2026, he is 29 by international age. The English KBO page lists his date of birth as 08/03/1997, which may cause confusion, but the Korean records page and KIA's official roster confirm it as March 8, 1997.

Q. When will Kwak Do-gyu return?

All that has been confirmed is the report that he was removed from the roster on July 25 with a left adductor strain and is scheduled for a re-examination in about 2 weeks. His return date depends on the results of that re-examination.

Related official sites

KBO official website — team standings and stats are updated daily
KBO official records page for Kim Gyu-seong — original source for salary, profile and season stats
KIA Tigers official roster status — check first-team registrations and removals