*This content was translated by AI.
Captain Hwang Jae-gyun (39), who led KT Wiz to its first championship, took care of the Wizards' corps even after retirement.
KT's team, led by head coach Lee Kang-chul (60), left for Geelong, Australia, where the spring camp will be held through Incheon International Airport on the 21st.
As Jang Sung-woo (36), who was an FA the previous day (20th), completed the contract, a total of 60 people, including 12 coaching staff and 48 players, will be able to go to Australia together. Four of them, Ko Young-pyo, So Hyung-joon, Park Young-hyun and Ahn Hyun-min, who will return home on the same day from the first camp in preparation for the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), will head to Australia separately on the 23rd.
A large number of new faces have joined this camp. A total of 14 players, including Kim Hyun-soo, Choi Won-joon and Han Seung-taek, who signed FA contracts last year, Han Seung-hyuk, Ahn In-san, four foreign players (including Asian quarter players), and five rookies in 2026 (pitchers Park Ji-hoon, Ko Joon-hyuk, infielders Lee Kang-min, Kim Gun-hwi, and Lim Sang-woo), were on the camp list.
It was a flight departing at 8 a.m., so the call-up time for Incheon International Airport was 5 a.m. Most of the team gathered at Suwon KT Wiz Park at 4 a.m. and headed to the airport together, and there was a surprise guest who arrived before them.
It was Hwang Jae-gyun, who recently announced his retirement from active duty. Hwang Jae-gyun welcomed the squad with a gift set that included sandwiches, drinks and simple snacks that he prepared himself. Everyone was surprised and happy because they only tipped off the club and kept it a secret from the team.
Kim Hyun-soo, who met Hwang Jae-gyun first, said, "The retirement itself has already been said while eating with his colleagues. Earlier, I exchanged useless stories with (Hwang) Jae-gyun. I asked why he bought a sandwich because he was doing something he hadn't done before," he said with a smile.
Hwang Jae-gyun is surprising KT from beginning to end this winter. Last year, Hwang Jae-kyun ranked third in the KBO's defense category with a batting average of 0.275 (106 hits in 385 at-bats), seven homers, 48 RBIs, 50 runs and three steals in 112 regular-season games, and an OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) of 0.715. Based on his performance, he declared his fourth FA after the season. Moreover, expectations for the contract were high because he visited the KT Fan Festival held in Suwon in November last year with Jang Sung-woo even though he was an FA.
However, Hwang Jae-gyun took off his uniform after a long thought after receiving KT's proposal. It was the first time in 20 years since he joined the Hyundai Unicorns as the 24th in the second round of the 2006 KBO Rookie Draft. So, Hwang Jae-gyun, who led the KBO's youngest club KT's first regular season and the victory in the Korean Series in 2021, left the ground.
Director Lee Kang-chul, who met with reporters before leaving the country, also said, "I really didn't lie and I never thought (Hwang) Jae-gyun would retire. Before retiring, I suddenly got a phone call on Sunday, so I thought I signed a contract, but he said he was retiring," he recalled when he was embarrassed. On the other hand, Jae-gyun is also a person, so he must have had no choice but to think realistic. Still, he has been with me for seven years and won the championship. I want to say thank you again, and I hope you do well in anything. I heard Okinawa is also coming, but I'm going to eat," he added.
Since retirement, Hwang Jae-gyun has been making appearances on YouTube and entertainment shows. The situation has already been offered by many places because he was good at talking. Hwang Jae-gyun expressed his concerns about the reason for retirement and career path at a youth clinic co-hosted by Major League Baseball and San Francisco Giants at LG Champions Park in Icheon, Gyeonggi-do on the 7th.
"I don't think of a leader for the time being. Hwang Jae-kyun, who drew the line, "I've been stressed by baseball for 20 years," said, "I thought it was right to stop here now. "I hope fans will remember him as a player who can play any game, any position, or any batting line without getting really sick," he said.
<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>
*This content was translated by AI.
