*This content was translated by AI.
In the end, director Kim Won-hyung of "Tears Up" couldn't stop saying "one minute" during the interview. "I went to the hospital and saw it once..."
Doosan Bears coach Kim Won-hyung (54) shed tears that he finally held back, recalling his "best friend" late Lotte Giants coach Kim Min-jae (53).
Doosan held an inaugural ceremony at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on the morning of the 15th and made its determination for the 2026 season. Most of the team, including Doosan CEO Ko Young-seop, head coach Kim Won-hyung and captain Yang Eui-ji, and coaching staff and front office attended the inaugural ceremony.
Recently, baseball has been sad. Lotte Dream Team's general coach Kim Min-jae, who played as a "winning member of the Beijing Olympics," left for heaven on the 14th after battling bile duct cancer. He was 53.
Coach Kim Min-jae showed jaundice symptoms during the Guam spring camp in January 2024, and after returning home, he was examined at a hospital, where he was diagnosed with bile duct cancer. After that, he returned to his feet devoted to chemotherapy and received support from many fans. Recently, however, the condition has deteriorated dramatically, and he has finally said goodbye to the world.
There was a friend who was more sad than anyone else at coach Kim Min-jae's sad news, and it was Kim Won-hyung, who started with him in 1991 as a member of the professional stage.
Director Kim Won-hyung was born in July 1972. Coach Kim Min-jae was born in January 1973.
Director Kim Won-hyung from Jeonju Jungang Elementary School, Jeonju Dong Middle School, and Jeonju High School. Kim Min-jae, a coach from Busan Jungang Elementary School, Gyeongnam Middle School, and Busan Technical High School.
The two met on the same team about 10 years after their debut. For four years from the 2002 season to the 2005 season, he played for the SK Wyverns (current SSG Landers). And coach Kim Min-jae briefly broke up when he moved to Hanwha Eagles in 2006.
Coach Kim Min-jae, who retired in the 2009 season. Coach Kim Won-hyung, who retired in the 2010 season.
The two, who began to walk side by side on the leader's path, turned around and met again in 2017. They joined together as coaches at Lotte Giants. Manager Kim Won-hyung was Lotte's first-team pitcher and head coach, and coach Kim Min-jae was the first-team defensive coach for two years until 2018.
The relationship between the two continued even as the team moved. The following year, in 2019, manager Kim Won-hyung moved to Doosan's first-team pitching coach, and coach Kim Min-jae moved to Doosan's first-team operations coach. And for another two years until 2020, he led the Doosan Dynasty.
And in 2021. Kim Won-hyung has been appointed as the new coach of SSG Landers. Coach Kim Min-jae immediately assisted him right next to him as a head coach. In the end, in the 2022 season, the two finally set up a great task of winning the KBO Ritz's first wire-to-wire integration as a coach and head coach. The two were together until manager Kim Won-hyung left SSG in the 2023 season.
While director Kim Won-hyung was away from the scene for a while, the two took a comma in their seven-year companion. While manager Kim Won-hyung was away from the KBO League site, coach Kim Min-jae joined Lotte as a head coach ahead of the 2024 season. Coach Kim Min-jae served as Lotte's bench coach last year and was in charge of the Dream Team's general coach responsible for fostering prospects before the 2026 season. However, at the end of the day, the two could not meet again.
Coach Kim Won-hyung could not hide his heartbreak during the interview with reporters. Director Kim said, "I went to the condolences yesterday (14th). Before that, I went to the hospital with Lotte coach Cho Won-woo because he said (Coach Kim's) condition was not good on the 6th. Coach Kim then suddenly failed to raise his head and could not continue talking for a while. The silence lasted about a minute. The image of the deceased's life seemed to come to mind.
The eyes of director Kim, who had a hard time settling down again, were shedding tears. Director Kim said, "I feel so sorry. So I went down (to Busan) again today, and tomorrow (16th) is my signature, so I want to protect him from the side," he said, making his surroundings solemn.
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*This content was translated by AI.
