Samsung Won't Re-sign 10 Players, Including Heo Yun-dong, a 1st-Round Lefty Who Won His Debut Start

Samsung has decided not to re-sign 10 players, including Heo Yun-dong, for the 2027 season. The left-hander, a 1st-round pick in the 2nd draft who won his debut start, has had no first-team appearances since 2023.

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

"We plan to focus on strengthening the 2027 season squad through future restructuring." Samsung Lions announced on October 19 that it would not re-sign 10 players for next season, and said so. The list included left-handed pitcher Heo Yun-dong. The club did not disclose the reasons for each player's exclusion.

Heo's professional debut was dazzling. In his debut against Lotte on May 28, 2020, he earned a start win with 5 scoreless innings. It was the 9th debut start win by a high school graduate rookie in KBO history. That pitcher's last first-team record is 7 games in 2023.

Heo Yun-dong Draft Position: 5th Overall, Round 1 of the 2020 Second Draft

Heo Yun-dong was born June 19, 2001, and is 25 years old. While at Yushin High School, he was named MVP at the 2019 Cheongryong-gi National High School Baseball Championship. In the 2020 rookie draft held that same year, Samsung picked him 5th overall in Round 1 of the second draft, and he joined the club after receiving a signing bonus.

Overall Pick	Player	Drafting Team
1	Jung Gu-beom	NC
2	Kang Hyeon-u	KT
3	Kim Yun-sik	LG
4	Hong Min-gi	Lotte
5	Heo Yun-dong	Samsung
6	Park Min	KIA

The "1st round" here refers to Round 1 of the second draft, which was run separately at the time. Substituting a first-draft pick would be incorrect. Newsis also introduced him as the 5th overall pick in Round 1 of the 2nd draft.

Heo Yun-dong career totals: 31 games, 6 wins, 6 losses; last first-team record in 2023

Season	Games	Wins	Losses	ERA
2020	11	2	1	4.80
2021	1	0	1	12.27
2022	12	4	3	6.55
2023	7	0	1	10.13
2026	0	-	-	-
Career	31	6	6	6.38

Seoul Shinmun reporting and KBO career records show his career totals as 114⅓ innings, 6 wins, 6 losses, and an ERA of 6.38. In the table, the 2022 games and losses are our own calculations, derived by subtracting other seasons from the career totals of 31 games and 6 losses.

His first-team gap overlaps with his military service. He served with Sangmu and returned to Samsung. Enlistment timing varies by source. Newsis wrote "enlisted in 2024," but a 2023 interview published on KBO says he was set to enlist on December 18 that year.

Heo Yun-dong salary 50 million won, signing bonus 150 million won

In September 2019, Samsung announced that it had signed Heo to a contract with a signing bonus of 150 million won for his entry into the club, according to Ilgan Sports, which reported it. The salary listed on Heo's KBO official profile for the 2026 season page is 50 million won. However, the salary field does not state which year it refers to or when it was updated. It should not be read as take-home pay or total income.

Excluded from re-signing: 10 players, 8 of them pitchers

Position	Count	Players
Pitchers	8	Yang Hyeon, Hong Won-pyo, Heo Yun-dong, Park Ju-hyeok, Kim Dong-hyeon, Shin Yun-ho, Park Si-won, Yu Byeong-seon
Infielders	1	Park Jang-min
Outfielders	1	Hong Hyeon-bin

Veteran sidearm pitcher Yang Hyeon was also on the list. He has 284 first-team games, 47 holds and a 4.22 ERA, and made 2 first-team appearances this year. Outfielder Hong Hyeon-bin was taken by KT in the 2017 second draft, Round 3, 21st overall.

The timing is also worth noting. Samsung finished the regular season with 83 wins, 58 losses and 3 ties, in2nd place (final as of 2026.10.12). KBO announced on October 20 that the Samsung-KIA playoff will begin at 14:00 on October 25. Samsung announced the re-signing cuts six days before the playoff.

Heo is now excluded from next season's re-signing, and his future, including any new team or retirement, has not been disclosed. Samsung said it plans to "focus on strengthening the 2027 season squad."

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How old is Heo Yun-dong?

Heo Yun-dong was born June 19, 2001. Based on the birth date on his KBO official profile, he is 25 years old as of October 21, 2026.

Q. What is Heo Yun-dong's salary?

The KBO official profile's 2026 season page lists 50 million won. However, it does not state which year that salary refers to. His signing bonus was 150 million won.

Q. What is Samsung's playoff schedule?

According to KBO's October 20 announcement, Samsung is scheduled to face KIA in the playoffs starting at 14:00 on October 25.

Related official sites

Samsung Lions official website — team announcements and roster news
KBO official player profile for Heo Yun-dong — date of birth, draft history, salary listing
KBO career records for Heo Yun-dong — first-team stats by season
KBO official team standings — 2026 regular season final standings

Lead image · archive photo · not a photo of the current game described in this article · Photo: Wikimedia Commons (Choi2451), CC BY-SA 3.0