KT Clinch First Place in Regular Season for First Time in 5 Years… Choi Won-jun Third in Batting Average, Kim Hyun-soo at 93 RBIs

KT clinched first place in the regular season on October 5 and advanced directly to the Korean Series. FA signings Choi Won-jun, third in batting average, and Kim Hyun-soo, with 93 RBIs, helped lift KT to first place in the first year of contracts worth up to 9.8 billion won.

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

0.352. That is the batting average Choi Won-jun (29), who had a 0.279 career KBO average, posted in his first season in a KT uniform. Kim Hyun-soo (38), who joined KT the same winter, added 93 RBIs. Right after they were signed, some media outlets called their deals an 'overpay.' The two contracts total up to 9.8 billion won. KT clinched first place in the regular season on October 5.

KT Clinch Regular-Season First Place, Advance Directly to Korean Series with 4.5-Game Lead

News1 reported that KT beat Lotte in Suwon on October 5 and, with Samsung losing the same day, clinched first place in the regular season. KT go straight to the Korean Series regardless of the results of their remaining games. With a record of 86 wins, 49 losses and 5 ties (winning percentage 0.637), KT are ahead of second-place Samsung by 4.5 games (as of 2:00 a.m. on 2026.10.06). It is their second regular-season title, coming 5 years after 2021.

In an interview on the 5th, the day the title was clinched, Manager Lee Kang-chul went through the newly acquired players one by one. OSEN reported that Lee said, "Choi Won-jun did well, of course, and with Kim Hyun-soo, I thought he had to give us at least this much, but..." Lee also separately mentioned Han Seung-taek's defensive contribution. The manager did not credit only the two hitters. Winning the Korean Series is a separate task that remains.

Choi Won-jun Third in Batting Average, Up from 0.279 Career to 0.352

Choi Won-jun joined KIA in 2016 as the No. 3 overall pick. He was traded to NC in July last year and signed an FA contract with KT in November that year. According to KBO records, this year in 136 games he has a batting average of 0.352, with 199 hits, 27 stolen bases and an OPS of 0.912 (as of 2:00 a.m. on 2026.10.06). That is 0.073 higher than his 0.279 career average over 9 seasons. His 199 hits are tied for first with Reyes.

Top 5 in 2026 KBO Batting Average (as of 2:00 a.m. on 2026.10.06, KBO)

Rank	Player	Team	Batting Average	Difference from Choi Won-jun
1	Koo Ja-wook	Samsung	0.371	+0.019
2	Reyes	Lotte	0.358	+0.006
3	Choi Won-jun	KT	0.352	—
4	Austin	LG	0.338	-0.014
5	Park Sung-han	SSG	0.331	-0.021

Kim Hyun-soo, Age 38 and 2,600 Hits: A Veteran's First Year with KT

Kim Hyun-soo (38), born in 1988, debuted with Doosan in 2006. After stints with Baltimore and Philadelphia, he played for LG from 2018. His career batting average is 0.312 (as of the end of the 2025 season), and he has won 2 batting titles and 5 Golden Gloves. Last year he was named Korean Series MVP. On June 9, he became the 3rd player in history to reach 2,600 career hits. His 0.285 batting average this year is reportedly 30th according to TVING's tally (as of 2:00 a.m. on 2026.10.06).

Kim Hyun-soo: Last Season with LG vs. First Season with KT

Season (Team)	Games	Batting Average	Hits	Home Runs	RBIs
2025 (LG)	140	0.298	144	12	90
2026 (KT, through October 5)	139	0.285	156	13	93

Kim Hyun-soo and Choi Won-jun's FA Contracts Total 9.8 Billion Won, with 9.2 Billion Won Guaranteed

Kukmin Ilbo reported the club's announcement on November 25, 2025. Kim Hyun-soo's deal is 3 years and 5 billion won, fully guaranteed, while Choi Won-jun's is 4 years and up to 4.8 billion won, including 600 million won in incentives. Of the 9.8 billion won total, 9.2 billion won is guaranteed. The day after the contracts, OSEN ran an article titled 'Panic Buy or Reasonable Investment?' that presented views worried about overpaying. Choi Won-jun's average annual guaranteed amount is about 600 million won lower. Yet this year's third-place batting average and shared lead in hits have come from Choi.

Breakdown of Kim Hyun-soo and Choi Won-jun's FA Contracts (as of the 2025.11.25 club announcement)

Player	Term	Signing Bonus	Total Salary	Incentives	Maximum Total	Guaranteed Amount	Average Annual Guaranteed Amount (Guaranteed Amount ÷ Term)	2026 Registered Salary
Kim Hyun-soo	3 years (2026~2028)	3 billion won	2 billion won	None	5 billion won	5 billion won	about 1.67 billion won	800 million won
Choi Won-jun	4 years (2026~2029)	2.2 billion won	2 billion won	600 million won	4.8 billion won	4.2 billion won	1.05 billion won	600 million won
Total	—	5.2 billion won	4 billion won	600 million won	9.8 billion won	9.2 billion won	—	—

The 9.8 billion won is the maximum amount across the entire contract period. The stats are tallied through the October 5 games, so they are not final season numbers. What is confirmed is only the regular-season title and the direct berth in the Korean Series. The two outfielders KT brought in last winter had a combined total of 355 hits through October 5.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How old is Kim Hyun-soo?

Kim Hyun-soo was born on January 12, 1988, and is 38 as of 2026. He debuted with Doosan in 2006 and, after playing for LG, has been with KT since the 2026 season.

Q. What are the terms of Choi Won-jun's FA contract?

The contract runs 4 years (2026~2029 seasons) and is worth up to 4.8 billion won. It consists of a 2.2 billion won signing bonus, 2 billion won in total salary and 600 million won in incentives, making the guaranteed amount 4.2 billion won. His 2026 salary registered with the KBO is 600 million won.

Q. Is winning the KT regular-season title the same as winning the Korean Series?

No. What KT clinched on October 5 is first place in the regular season and a direct berth in the Korean Series. The Korean Series champion is decided separately in the postseason.

Q. Why do Choi Won-jun's hit totals differ from article to article?

One confirmed difference is the cutoff date. News1 reported 197 hits and 119 runs as of October 4. KBO records that reflect the games through October 5 show 199 hits and 120 runs.

Related Official Sites

KBO Official Daily Team Standings — Check KT and Samsung standings and games behind by date
KBO Official Records for Kim Hyun-soo — Look up season and career batting records
KBO Official Records for Choi Won-jun — Look up the latest batting average, hits and stolen base records
KT Wiz Official Website — Official club news

Lead image · Archival photo · Not an on-site photo of a current game in this article · Photo: Wikimedia Commons (Fetx2002), CC BY-SA 4.0