"I'll decide after consulting with the club"… Ha Hyeon-seung Goes No. 1 to Kiwoom, Signing Bonus Not Yet Set; Choi Ji-man Taken 15th by KT

At the 2027 KBO rookie draft, Ha Hyeon-seung was selected No. 1 overall by Kiwoom. Choi Ji-man went to KT with the 15th pick of the second round. The signing bonus has not yet been announced.

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

Three-Line Summary

Kiwoom selected Busan High School's Ha Hyeon-seung with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2027 rookie draft
KT picked former major leaguer Choi Ji-man with the 15th overall pick of the second round
The previous No. 1 pick, Park Jun-hyeon, received a signing bonus of 700 million won; Ha Hyeon-seung's has not been announced

"I will decide on my position by thoroughly consulting with the club from here on." Edaily reported that these were Ha Hyeon-seung's words right after being selected on September 21. Newsis and other outlets reported that he turned down an overseas offer in the 4 billion won range. The 18-year-old left-hander ended up with Kiwoom, whose name was called at 2 p.m. that day at Lotte Hotel World in Seoul.

Ha Hyeon-seung, No. 1 draft pick, at Lotte Hotel on September 21

Four months earlier, on May 29, 2026, Ha Hyeon-seung announced on social media that he would stay in Korea, writing, "I want to succeed as a great baseball player in the KBO League and then challenge a bigger stage." Newsis and Edaily reported that he turned down a New York Yankees offer of $3 million (about 4 billion won). However, Sports Chosun put it at up to $2.26 million, so the figures differ.

At the U-18 Asian Championship in September, he threw 15⅔ innings with a 0.00 ERA and won MVP. On the 21st, Newsis reported that Kiwoom called his name with the first pick of the first round. He is a 194cm left-hander with a top velocity of 153km/h. In high school this year, he posted a 0.39 ERA over 45⅔ innings as a pitcher and hit .383 with a 1.088 OPS as a batter. That is why a two-way role is being discussed.

Top 5 Picks and Choi Ji-man's 15th Pick: The Selection Order

Comparing the results reported by Etoday and Seoul Shinmun, the top of the draft looks like this. The No. 2 overall pick, Kim Ji-woo (18), is a Seoul High School third baseman who hit .422 with a 1.133 OPS this year and turned down offers of at least $1.5 million from multiple major league clubs in June. In effect, Ha Hyeon-seung and Kim Ji-woo both passed on going overseas and were called as the No. 1 and No. 2 picks.

Pick	Name	School/Team	Selecting Club
No. 1 overall	Ha Hyeon-seung	Busan High School	Kiwoom
No. 2 overall	Kim Ji-woo	Seoul High School	Doosan
No. 3 overall	Lee Ho-min	Gyeongnam High School	KIA
No. 4 overall	Park Geun-seo	Seoul Design High School	Lotte
No. 5 overall	Lee Seung-won	Yushin High School	KT
Round 2, No. 15 overall	Choi Ji-man	Ulsan Whales	KT

Another name that day was Choi Ji-man (35). KT, which took Lee Seung-won in the first round, called his name in the second round. After signing with Seattle in 2009 and leaving for the United States, he played 525 MLB games with 67 home runs, second among Korean hitters in career home runs. His 2023 salary with Pittsburgh was $4.65 million. He was picked five months after joining the Ulsan Whales in April 2026.

Ha Hyeon-seung's Signing Bonus vs. Park Jun-hyeon's 700 Million Won

There is no figure yet. As of September 22, 2026, Kiwoom has not announced the signing bonus. Sports Seoul reported that the signing bonus of Park Jun-hyeon, the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft, was 700 million won, and that Jeong Hyeon-woo's the year before was 500 million won. That is an increase of 200 million won, or 40%, in one year. The 1 billion won for Han Ki-joo cited by Segye Ilbo was for a first-round designated pick, so it is hard to put it on the same line as a No. 1 pick in a full draft.

The remaining step is the signing. Kiwoom and Ha Hyeon-seung must discuss the pitcher/hitter position question along with the signing bonus, and as of September 22, 2026, KT and Choi Ji-man have not signed a contract either. The Yankees' offer amount is only offer details confirmed by multiple reports, not a signed contract. The selection order was compiled by cross-checking multiple reports on the results, and the original text of the KBO's final official list of picks could not be verified.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How much is Ha Hyeon-seung's signing bonus?

It had not been announced as of September 22, 2026. The previous No. 1 overall pick, Park Jun-hyeon, received 700 million won, and Jeong Hyeon-woo before him received 500 million won.

Q. Why did Ha Hyeon-seung turn down the Yankees' offer?

He said on social media on May 29, 2026, "I want to succeed as a great baseball player in the KBO League and then challenge a bigger stage." The size of the offer differs by outlet, from $2.26 million to $3 million.

Q. What was Choi Ji-man's draft position?

The KT Wiz selected him with the 15th overall pick of the second round. KT took Yushin High School's Lee Seung-won first, in the first round.

Related Official Sites

KBO Official Website — Original draft notices and player records
Kiwoom Heroes Official Website — Club notices and team news
KT Wiz Official Website — Club notices and team news
KBO Choi Ji-man Player Profile — Check Futures League records

Representative image · Archive photo · Not a scene from the current game in the article · Photo: Wikimedia Commons (User Mori Chan on Flickr), CC BY 2.0