*This content was translated by AI.
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) Executive Committee has decided to raise the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) reward.
KBO held the first executive committee and board meeting in 2026 on January 20 and 27, respectively. We have confirmed the revision of major rules and league regulations," he said on the 29th.
One thing that stands out is the increase in WBC rewards to be held in March. The Korean national team, which has only failed in the first round of three consecutive WBC tournaments, is dreaming of advancing to the finals under coach Ryu Ji-hyun. KBO confirmed the additional payment of team victory allowances and rewards to motivate the national team participating in international competitions, such as increasing the morale and concentration of the national team.
Previously, no reward was paid for advancing to the WBC quarterfinals. However, a reward of 400 million won was newly established from 2026 WBC. In addition, the reward was increased from 300 million won to 600 million won for the advance to the semifinals, from 700 million won to 800 million won for the runner-up, and from 1 billion won to 1.2 billion won for the championship. Through the revision of the national team's operating regulations, the reward will be paid only once based on the final grade.
It is also notable that the minimum salary of professional baseball players has also increased slightly. KBO said, "It reflected the trend of rising prices and raising the minimum wage. In order to improve player treatment and strengthen the league's competitiveness, we have confirmed the minimum salary increase for players," he said. "The current KBO League player's minimum annual salary has been maintained at 30 million won per year since 2021. "Due to the judgment that a reasonable increase in a certain cycle (around five years) is needed, we decided to raise the minimum annual salary of players to 33 million won from 2027 by 10% compared to the previous one," he added.
The minimum salary for KBO league players has been gradually raised to 20 million won in 2005, 24 million won (20% increase), 27 million won (12.5% increase) in 2015, and 30 million won (11% increase) in 2021.
Special targets for foreign players will also be expanded. In recent years, more and more high school seniors, second graders, and fourth graders, who are eligible for rookie draft, are also seeking to enter overseas markets immediately after graduating from middle school.
Article 107 (1) of the current KBO Code provides that if a "high school player" signs a contract with a foreign professional club, he or she cannot sign with a KBO club for two years upon returning to Korea. If a player does not go to high school after graduating from middle school and goes abroad, it can be interpreted as intentional avoidance of rules, so the scope of the current high school enrollment standard has been expanded to middle school.
KBO emphasized, "We have prevented the possibility of avoiding the rules through not entering high school and reasonably expanded the scope of institutional responses to the outflow of prospective overseas."
The number of players belonging to each club has also been increased. KBO announced, "We decided to increase the number of players to strengthen the flexibility of team management and the stability of league management." For that reason, "expand the options for each club in terms of injuries, condition management and power management during the season." He also explained, "We decided to expand the number of players in consideration of the fact that the number of entries will be expanded (29 people) from 2026 due to the introduction of the Asian quarter system."
"We will expand professional entry and growth opportunities to foster and amateur players by fostering and strengthening motivation for players." We aim to thicken the player base across the league," he added. Accordingly, the number of players belonging to each club, which is currently 65, will be increased to 68 and implemented from this season by three.
The first committee decided to revise video reading regulations, introduce wireless intercom, organize Monday's games to expand the number of games and expand the base of the 2026 Futures League. First, an amendment to the video reading regulations was approved to limit "strategic overruns" occurring at second and third bases.
"Strategic Overrun" is a play in which a first-base runner steps on the base and runs at full speed in a second-base force play situation (especially when a runner is also on third base) instead of sliding to occupy the second base. At this time, the runner who passed through the second base is likely to get caught in a rundown and end up being tagged out, but the moment the runner steps on the second base before the throw, the force-out is lifted, so it is an intentional baserunning strategy for the third base runner to home and score before that. However, it is the KBO's judgment that such a play undermines the nature of the base run. The Major League Baseball (MLB) has also been included in the video-readable play since 2025.
In a force play situation, even if the out decision is reversed to safe through video reading, if the runner occupies the base or does not make a legitimate attempt to advance to the next base, it can be judged as out by giving up running. However, it was decided not to apply if the act occurred due to the influence of the referee's declaration of out judgment. In addition, whether the leading runner's score in the second out was made before the runner gave up the second or third base advance is determined based on the time when the runner passes the back of the second or third base and two feet touch the ground.
In addition, a wireless intercom system will be introduced from 2026 season to reduce video reading time and strengthen judgment explanations. In the event of a video reading situation, communication with the reading center and in-house broadcasting are possible without moving the equipment being worn, which is expected to reduce the game time. Wireless intercoms will be worn by the 1st and 2nd base judges, and if the referee team leader does not wear equipment, the highest experienced judge among the worn referees will play the role of the referee team leader related to video reading.
Starting this season, the number of Futures League games will also be expanded by five games per team. This is a measure that takes into account the characteristics of the Futures League, which has a large number of games canceled due to rain and ground conditions and limited reorganization. Accordingly, from the 2026 season, the Futures League will increase by five games from 116 games to 121 games per existing team, and the total number of games in the league will be expanded from 696 games to a total of 726 games. In order to expand the base of the Futures League, the game will be organized on Monday when the KBO League will not be held. With this, the Futures League will organize three consecutive games on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and three consecutive games on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, and Tuesday as Lee Dong-il.
Meanwhile, the KBO budget for 2026 was set at 35.5 billion won.
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*This content was translated by AI.
