It's not even the first team, but why did the 43-year-old left-hander go to Ulsan, where he delayed his retirement

*This content was translated by AI.

Veteran left-hander Ko Hyo-joon (43) revealed the back story of delaying his retirement and joining the blood-stained Ulsan Wales.

Ko Hyo-joon met with reporters ahead of the home opener of the 2026 Mediheal KBO Futures League against the Lotte Giants Futures team at Munsu Baseball Stadium in Ulsan on the 20th and said, "The Ulsan club contacted me first. Coach Jang Won-jin, Coach Choi Ki-moon, and General Manager Kim Dong-jin contacted me and asked me if I would like to try again, so I thought a lot," he said.

On the 18th, Ulsan General Manager Kim Dong-jin said, "We have recruited left-hander bullpen pitcher Ko Hyo-joon with abundant experience and know-how," adding, "We expect it to add stability to the bullpen management along with the mentor role of the young pitchers."

Ko Hyo-joon is a left-handed bullpen pitcher representing the KBO. Since his professional debut with the Lotte Giants in 2002, he has played 646 games in 24 seasons with the SK Wyverns (current SSG Landers), KIA Tigers, LG Twins, SSG Landers and Doosan Bears. The first-team record is 49 wins, 55 losses, 65 holds, 4 saves, a 5.31 ERA, and 911 innings, 617 walks and 914 strikeouts.

Last year, he played for Doosan. He failed to show competitiveness in 45 games in the first team with 2 wins, 1 loss, 9 holds average of 6.86 and 14 walks and 19 strikeouts in 21 innings, and was released after the season. It would not be strange at all to retire at an old age, but he came down to Ulsan.

Ko Hyo-joon said, "When I came down to Ulsan, I thought a lot about it because I was separated from my family. But my family cheered me on if I could try a little more, so I came here like this," he said.

He said, "My condition is about 60-70% right now. In the meantime, I threw a ball at a private academy while weight training at the gym. I also trained in Phuket, Thailand. I've been training personally, so I'm out of my mind," he laughed.

The Futures League, which has a thin playing base and a large number of games, was a land of opportunity. Ko Hyo-joon said, "Last year, I missed more than a month, and I had a lot of regrets. The fact that there was such a break during the season itself was surprisingly stressful. There must have been a direction of the club, but it was a very difficult moment for a player, he said, smiling, "This year, I took a little more time and took a lot of psychological stability in the preparation process, so I was in fairly good condition."

The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) made clear that it is impossible to promote Ulsan Wales, its first civic club, to the first team. Instead, the players did not block contracts with 10 KBO clubs during the season. As such, the ultimate goal of Ulsan Wales players is to advance to the first team. Ko Hyo-joon also did not deny this.

Ko Hyo-joon said, "It would be a lie to say that you don't have greed for the first team. There was such a side when I came here, and I thought it would be good to create opportunities here. Of course, I have to show them first to get to the first team. I don't know what kind of situation will happen, but I will think it's a showcase and focus more and try," he said with strength.

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*This content was translated by AI.