7 straight Korean Series trips at Doosan, 3 straight seventh-place finishes at Lotte… Manager Kim Tae-hyeong not re-signed

Lotte announced on the 24th that it will not re-sign Manager Kim Tae-hyeong. The 3-year, 2.4 billion won contract has ended, and all 3 seasons under Kim ended in 7th place. A successor is being selected.

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

Three-line summary

On October 24, 2026, Lotte announced that it will not re-sign Manager Kim Tae-hyeong, whose 3-year contract has ended.
The contract terms were a total of 2.4 billion won over 3 years (600 million won signing bonus, 600 million won annual salary). The annual salary was not 2.4 billion won.
Over 3 seasons under Kim, the regular-season record was 196 wins, 223 losses and 13 ties, with a 0.468 winning percentage. All 3 seasons ended in 7th place.

On October 24, the Lotte Giants issued a brief announcement: the 3-year contract with Manager Kim Tae-hyeong had ended and would not be renewed. The manager the club brought in during fall 2023 on the strength of a Doosan title record has parted ways with Lotte this way. The manager who took Doosan to the Korean Series 7 straight years never reached the postseason with Lotte.

Kim Tae-hyeong's non-renewal: what Lotte's announcement said

Edaily reported that Lotte said on this day, "The 3-year contract period with Manager Kim has expired, and the club decided not to re-sign." It was not a mid-term firing; the contract ended and the two sides parted ways. Chief Coach Kang Seok-cheon is also reportedly leaving the team, alongside Manager Kim.

KBO standings list the final regular-season record as of October 12, and the club's announcement came 12 days later. Sports Chosun reported on the 25th that the club is in the process of selecting its next manager and will announce the choice once it is made.

3 Straight Seventh-Place Finishes and 0.468 Win Percentage, Compared With the Doosan Era

Over the 3 years under Kim Tae-hyeong, Lotte recorded 196 wins, 223 losses and 13 ties in 432 regular-season games. According to MoneyToday's tally, the winning percentage is 0.468. Its standing was 7th place in all 3 seasons, and it never reached the postseason.

Season	Record	Win pct.	Standing
2024	66W 74L 4T	0.471	7th
2025	66W 72L 6T	0.478	7th
2026	64W 77L 3T	0.454	7th
Total	196W 223L 13T	0.468	Postseason appearances: 0

Kim Tae-hyeong was born on September 12, 1967, and is 59 this year. Kim joined the OB Bears as a catcher in 1990 and won a Korean Series title as a player in 1995. As Doosan's manager, Kim won the championship in 2015, 2016 and 2019, giving the team a total of 3 Korean Series titles, and from 2015 the team reached the Korean Series for 7 straight years.

The final standings make the gap clearer. In the KBO daily team standings (regular-season final record as of October 12, 2026), the win-percentage gap between 6th-place SSG and Lotte is 0.014. The gap to 5th-place Doosan, which holds the last postseason ticket, is 0.071.

Rank	Team	Record	Win pct.
5	Doosan Bears	73W 66L 5T	0.525
6	SSG Landers	65W 74L 5T	0.468
7	Lotte Giants	64W 77L 3T	0.454
8	NC Dinos	64W 78L 2T	0.451
9	Hanwha Eagles	57W 83L 4T	0.407

Kim Tae-hyeong's annual salary of 600 million won and total contract of 2.4 billion won; assessments are divided

According to Chosun Ilbo, Lotte hired Manager Kim on October 20, 2023, under a three-year deal worth 2.4 billion won in total. The package was a 600 million won signing bonus plus 600 million won in salary for each of the three years. The 2.4 billion won figure is the three-year total, not the annual salary. That is 400 million won less than the 2.8 billion won three-year re-signing deal at Doosan.

The main issue in the report is how to assess accountability for results versus player development. Those pressing on accountability point to the numbers. The club brought in a manager with a title pedigree on top-tier KBO pay, yet the results were 3 straight seventh-place finishes and 0 postseason appearances. At Doosan, it was 7 straight Korean Series appearances; at Lotte, 3 straight seventh-place finishes.

On the other side, some argue that player development should be weighed. Manager Kim, ahead of the regular-season finale on October 12, told Financial News in an interview that the foundation of the center line (the defensive core running through catcher, keystone and center field) is in place. Kim added a condition: backup depth still needs work, and the team could improve if outside reinforcements are added.

12 days before the non-renewal announcement, Kim told reporters ahead of the final game: "If it wasn't done within 3 years, the manager is responsible."

Frequently asked questions

Q. Was Kim Tae-hyeong's non-renewal a firing?

No. Lotte said, "The three-year contract period has expired, and the club decided not to re-sign." It was not a mid-term firing; the contract ended and the two sides parted ways.

Q. What was Kim Tae-hyeong's salary?

Under the contract with Lotte, the annual salary was 600 million won. Adding the 600 million won signing bonus, the three-year total comes to 2.4 billion won.

Q. How old is Kim Tae-hyeong?

Born on September 12, 1967, Kim is 59 as of 2026. Kim's playing position was catcher.

Related official sites

KBO official team standings — Check the final 2026 regular-season team standings
KBO historical team records — Compare Lotte's season-by-season records
KBO official retired-player profile of Kim Tae-hyeong — Date of birth and playing career records
KBO official English website — League schedules and news (in English)

Representative image · Archive photo · Not a photo from the current game in the article · Photo: Wikimedia Commons (Cheolstar), CC BY-SA 3.0