'Historical First Step' Ulsan Wales, 'KBO Legend' Choi Ki-moon and Park Myung-hwan appointed coaches → The founding ceremony will be held on the afternoon of the 2nd

*This content was translated by AI.

Ulsan Wales, the first local government professional baseball team in the KBO league based in Ulsan, will conclude the formation of the coaching staff and declare departure through a full-fledged inauguration ceremony.

On January 29, the Ulsan Sports Council officially announced the appointment of nine coaching staff to assist Jang Won-jin (57), the first coach. Analysts say that the selection focused on maximizing player development capabilities by setting the foundation for the team in its early days. All the leaders who watched the players at the tryouts held on the 13th and 14th of last month were approved by Ulsan City.

Choi Ki-moon (53), who served as the battery coach for the 2024 Premier 12 national team, has been appointed as the head coach and will also serve as the battery part. Coach Park Myung-hwan (49) and coach Jung Jae-bok (45) will be in charge of the main and bullpen, respectively, while Kim Dae-ik (hit), Lim Soo-min (defensive), Ahn Sang-joon (baseball, defense), and Hwang Sun-il (outdoor defense, hit) will be in charge of each part. Coach Kang Min-chul and Kim Tae-hoon will join the training part to manage the physical condition of the team.

In particular, head coach Choi Ki-moon and coach Park Myung-hwan are considered KBO league legends. Coach Choi Ki-moon played in as many as 1,075 games in the KBO League from the 1996 to 2009 season when he was active, recording a career record of 0.262 (681 hits in 2595 at-bats) with 35 home runs and 270 RBIs. Coach Park Myung-hwan is also a "master pitcher" who started his professional career in the 1996 season and posted not bad results with 103 wins, 93 losses, 8 holds, 9 saves and an ERA of 3.81 in 326 games until the 2015 season.

Coach Jang Won-jin said, "This coaching team is composed of experts who overcome the weaknesses of the first year of its foundation and best match the direction of the club's development," adding, "We expect to create clear synergy in each field."

Ulsan Wales, which has completed all the coaching staff appointment procedures, will hold an official inauguration ceremony at Munsu Baseball Stadium at 3 p.m. on the 2nd to announce the start of the long journey. More than 500 guests, including Ulsan Mayor Kim Doo-gyeom and KBO President Koo Hu-yeon, will attend. Starting with Mayor Kim Doo-gyeom's commemorative speech, the founding speech of Ulsan Metropolitan City Sports Council President Kim Chul-wook and the encouraging speech of the general staff of Heo Gu-yeon will follow.

For domestic baseball fans, the composition of the team is of paramount interest. Currently, only 26 of the 35 players in Ulsan and Wales are filled. Bae Sang-kwon and Shin Jun-woo (from Kiwoom Heroes), as well as pitchers Kim Do-kyu, Namho and Cho Jae-young (from Doosan Bears), from Lotte Giants, have been confirmed to accompany Ulsan in the 2026 season.

Excluding two additional foreigners to be selected, there are seven seats left for domestic players. The plan is to conduct a closed-door test through individual contacts among those eliminated from the tryout, including left-hander Shim Jae-min from the Lotte Giants, Kim Dong-yeop with 92 home runs in the KBO League, and Gong Min-gyu from the Samsung Lions.

After completing the composition of the players, the Ulsan Wales club will hold off-season training on Jeju Island from the 12th and begin quenching. He then plans to make his official debut through the opening game of the KBO Futures League on March 20.

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*This content was translated by AI.