Hanwha + South Korean national team's shock Korea → The substitute player has already left for Korea. "I'm honored and happy to go to the big tournament." Taegeuk mark's determination

*This content was translated by AI.

NC Dinos homeowner Kim Hyung-joon (27) was selected as a substitute in place of Choi Jae-hoon (36, Hanwha Eagles), who was dropped from the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) national team due to an unexpected injury. Kim Hyung-joon said, "I'm happy and honored."

The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) Power Reinforcement Committee officially announced on the 10th that "Kim Hyung-joon has been confirmed as a replacement for Choi Jae-hoon, who has become difficult to play in the WBC tournament due to injury." On the same day, the NC club said, "Kim Hyung-joon departed for Korea on the 10th (February 9th in US time) with Kim Joo-won and Kim Young-gyu to join the WBC national team."

Earlier on the 8th, an official from Hanwha said, "Choi Jae-hoon was hit by a ball in his right hand while receiving a home throw during a defensive training session at the Melbourne Spring Camp in Australia." "As a result of an X-ray examination at a local hospital, I was found to have a fracture of the right finger (finger) for three to four weeks," he said. "The results of the examination were immediately delivered to the WBC national team."

Choi Jae-hoon, who graduated from Hwagok Elementary School, Deoksu Middle School, and Deoksu High School, joined the Doosan Bears in 2008 as a nurturing player and made his professional debut that year. After moving to Hanwha through a trade in April 2017, he has been active as Hanwha's main catcher until this season. Above all, Choi Jae-hoon received the honor of being selected for the senior national team for the first time in November last year. Expectations were high as well. Along with Park Dong-won (LG Twins), high expectations were raised that he would keep the national team's home turf firmly.

However, he suffered a sad injury in this spring camp, and his dream of playing in the WBC for the first time in his life also flew away.

It was Kim Hyung-joon who won the honor of the national flag on behalf of Choi Jae-hoon. Already, Kim Hyung-joon is receiving great attention as a catcher for the next generation of national teams. He showed a sense of stability by jumping to the starting catcher of the national team at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.

Kim Hyung-joon, who graduated from Dong Dong-cho, Sekwang Middle School, and Se Young-bo, joined NC as the ninth overall pick in the second round of the 2018 rookie draft. At that time, the NC club said about the background of naming Kim Hyung-joon, "Based on excellent physical conditions, he has stable pitching capability and framing ability as a catcher. As a batter, he is good at pushing, producing strong pitches and coping with breaking balls well," he said, expressing expectations.

Kim Hyung-joon gradually began to gain experience by playing 60 games in the 2018 season, 55 games in the 2019 season, and 44 games in the 2020 season, respectively. After serving in the military in Sangmu, he returned to the first team stage in the 2023 season and played 26 games that year. It was in the 2024 season that he became the main catcher of NC in earnest. After Yang Eui-ji returned to Doosan ahead of the 2023 season, NC began to give Kim Hyung-joon many opportunities from the 2024 season.

He played in 119 games in the 2024 season and posted a batting average of 0.195 (69 hits in 354 at-bats), 17 home runs, 50 RBIs, 39 runs, 45 walks, two-body ball, 144 strikeouts, a slugging percentage of 0.373, an on-base percentage of 0.285, and an on-base percentage of 0.658. He then played in 127 games in the 2025 season, with a batting average of 0.232 (84 hits in 362 times at bat), 18 homers, 55 RBIs, 51 runs, 45 walks, a three-body ball, 126 strikeouts, a slugging percentage of 0.414, an on-base percentage of 0.320, an OPS of 0.734, a scoring batting average of 0.290 and a pinch-hit batting average of 0.250, respectively. In defense, he marked 35.6% (73 attempts, 26 stops) of stolen bases. In addition, he made 12 errors in the 2024 season, but he showed better performance by reducing it to four in the 2025 season.

In fact, Cho Hyung-woo, the main catcher of SSG Landers, was mentioned as one of Choi Jae-hoon's strong candidates for alternative selection resources. Cho Hyung-woo was selected for the national team along with Park Dong-won and Choi Jae-hoon during the K-baseball series against the Czech Republic and Japan in November last year. Above all, it is true that Kim Hyung-joon underwent surgery to remove the left hand yug bone in October last year, and has not been mentioned as a candidate for the national team. At the time of surgery, the estimated rehabilitation period was 2 months. And while sweating in NC's spring camp, he joined the national team again in a surprise move.

Kim Hyung-joon said through the NC club, "I'm happy and honored to be able to participate in a big competition called WBC on behalf of Korea. It was a competition that I personally wanted to participate in. I will not forget the weight of the Taegeuk mark and play in the game," he said, expressing his determined feelings on board.

"It's a pity that we can't finish CAMP 2 until the end with our teammates, but I think it's a great relief in preparing for the upcoming season to have a detailed understanding of the players' pitch and condition by receiving enough balls from new pitchers. My wrist is currently in good condition, and I have prepared well for the season. As much as we are with great players, we want to show good performances responsibly," he said again.

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*This content was translated by AI.