Choi Ji-man earned 18.1 billion won in MLB but gets 0 won… KT rookie Lee Seung-won's signing bonus is 250 million won

KT has finished signing all 11 of its 2027 rookies. First-round pick Lee Seung-won's signing bonus of 250 million won is the highest on the team. Former major leaguer Choi Ji-man joined without a signing bonus.

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

Summary in three lines

On October 6, KT announced that it had completed signing contracts with all 11 players selected in the 2027 rookie draft.
Lee Seung-won, a left-hander from Yushin High School and the No. 5 overall pick in the first round, has the team's highest signing bonus at 250 million won.
Second-round pick Choi Ji-man joined with a signing bonus of 0 won under KBO regulations, at the rookie minimum salary.

On October 6, the KT Wiz put out a brief announcement: "We have completed contracts with the 11 players selected in the 2027 rookie draft." The names that stand out are Lee Seung-won and Choi Ji-man. The 18-year-old rookie's signing bonus is 250 million won, while the veteran who earned 18.1 billion won in MLB gets 0 won.

Lee Seung-won's signing bonus of 250 million won is the highest among KT's 11 rookies

MK Sports reports that the largest amount goes to Lee Seung-won, the No. 5 overall pick in the first round, at 250 million won. That is 2.5 times as much as the team's second-highest bonus, 100 million won for third-rounder Kim Ji-yul. The 11 rookies consist of 5 pitchers, 1 catcher and 5 infielders. Lee Seung-won ranked first on the team in both draft order and signing bonus.

Lee Seung-won is a left-handed pitcher born on August 23, 2008, making him 18 years old by international age. He came out of Yushin High School in Suwon and was KT's first pick. In an OSEN interview on October 5, he said he wants to build a healthy body and give his best in the second half of next season. That is only his personal goal, not the club's plan for how to use him.

Choi Ji-man's signing bonus is 0 won: a veteran of 525 MLB games joins as a rookie

Choi Ji-man (35) was selected by KT with the No. 15 overall pick in the second round. A graduate of Incheon Dongsan High School, he made his major league debut with the Los Angeles Angels in 2016. In his MLB career he hit .234 with 67 home runs and 238 RBI in 525 games. In 2020, he became the first Korean position player to appear in the World Series.

According to Etoday, the signing bonus of 0 won is due to Article 107 of the KBO regulations, the 'special provision for players returning from overseas.' The contract has not fallen through and he is not unpaid; he receives the rookie minimum salary. By Newsis's tally, his cumulative MLB salary was 12.65 million dollars (about 18.197 billion won).

KT's rookie signing bonuses total 740 million won, broken down by round

Round	Player	Signing bonus (won)	Confirmed by
1	Lee Seung-won	250 million	MK Sports, bnt News
2	Choi Ji-man	0	bnt News, Etoday
3	Kim Ji-yul	100 million	MK Sports, bnt News
4	Choi Min-sang	80 million	MK Sports, bnt News
5	Kim Dong-young	70 million	MK Sports, bnt News
6	Kim Ji-min	60 million	Etoday (not cross-verified)
7	Choi Min-young	50 million	Etoday (not cross-verified)
8	Jo Young-woo	40 million	Etoday (not cross-verified)
9	Kim Dan	30 million	Etoday (not cross-verified)
10	An U-seok	30 million	Etoday (not cross-verified)
11	Lee Ji-hyo	30 million	Etoday (not cross-verified)

The signing bonuses of all 11 players add up to 740 million won. Lee Seung-won alone accounts for 33.8% of that (250 million won ÷ 740 million won). From Round 4 through Round 8, the amount drops by 10 million won each round. The figures for Rounds 6–11 come solely from Etoday's reporting and have not been cross-verified.

First-round signing bonus of 250 million won matches SSG and Hanwha

Club	Player	School · Position	Signing bonus (won)	Announced
KT	Lee Seung-won	Yushin High School left-handed pitcher	250 million	October 6
SSG	Lee Yun-seong	Masan High School left-handed pitcher	250 million	October 6
Hanwha	Min Ju-hong	Seorak High School right-handed pitcher	250 million	October 3

According to OSEN, SSG signed Masan High School left-hander Lee Yun-seong on October 6, and according to Yonhap News, Hanwha signed Seorak High School right-hander Min Ju-hong on October 3. The amount is 250 million won for all three. This compares only the three clubs whose amounts have been confirmed and is not a ranking across the whole league.

Some uncertainties remain. We have not obtained the club's original announcement or the KBO's official list of draft picks, and the fact that figures from several outlets match is ultimately because they relayed the same club announcement. October 6 is only the day the completion of the contracts was announced; the actual signing date for each player has not been confirmed.

Frequently asked questions

Q. How much is Lee Seung-won's signing bonus?

It is 250 million won. That is the most among KT's 11 rookies for 2027, and the same amount as fellow first-rounders Lee Yun-seong of SSG and Min Ju-hong of Hanwha.

Q. Why is Choi Ji-man's signing bonus 0 won?

According to Etoday, a signing bonus cannot be paid because of Article 107 of the KBO regulations, the 'special provision for players returning from overseas.' The contract was signed normally, and he receives the rookie minimum salary.

Q. How old is Lee Seung-won?

He was born on August 23, 2008, and is 18 years old as of October 6. He is a different player from the infielder with the same name who appears in KBO record searches, so be careful when looking at profiles.

Related official sites

KT Wiz official website — official site of the KT Wiz
KBO official website — official site of the KBO League
SSG Landers official website — official site of the SSG Landers

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