'Noisy inside and out...' Ulsan Whales beat the heat with watermelon gifts from the club owner, aiming for a strong second half

*This content was translated by AI.

Despite a noisy situation surrounding the club's budget support issues, the Ulsan Whales team strengthened their unity and set out to achieve strong results in the second half of the season.

According to the Ulsan club on the 16th, Ulsan Whales owner Kim Cheol-wook visited the Ulsan Munsu Baseball Stadium on the 15th to encourage the players who have been training and competing amidst consecutive days of scorching heat. He delivered watermelons to boost their morale and help manage their physical condition. This visit was arranged to help the players stay focused solely on the second-half race without being shaken by recent internal and external variables surrounding the club.

The players, who cooled off by sharing watermelon that day, rechecked their goals for the second half and ignited their determination as a One-Team. Owner Kim Cheol-wook told the players, "I hope you stay healthy and show your best performance even in the second half," and added, "Please create a wonderful season that can bring hope and excitement to Ulsan citizens."

Captain Kim Soo-in responded, "I sincerely thank the club owner for carefully caring for the team even in such hot weather," and added, "We will use the encouragement sent on the first day of summer as strength to repay expectations with good results."

Meanwhile, Ulsan Whales has recently been at the center of controversy over budget cuts by local governments and whether the club should continue operations. When Kim Sang-wook, mayor of Ulsan City, mentioned an annual budget allocation of 6 billion won and stated that "the decision on whether to continue will be made after gathering citizen opinions after the season ends," the entire baseball community simultaneously expressed concern and support, calling for proactive measures.

The Korean Professional Baseball Players Association (Chairman Yang Hyeon-jong) issued a statement on the 16th, emphasizing that "Ulsan Whales surpassed 50,000 cumulative spectators within five months of its founding, proving the demand for baseball in the region," and stated that "given their public role that cannot be evaluated solely by short-term financial performance, such as expanding sports enjoyment rights and revitalizing youth baseball, objective verification must precede any decision on their existence."

The Korean Baseball Players Association (Chairman Kim Gwang-soo) also expressed regret on the same day, stating that "raising the issue of the club's existence at a time when the season is in full swing and the team leads the Southern League causes great confusion for players and fans." They further pointed out that "Ulsan City, which has consistently provided budget support to the Ulsan Citizen Football Club in the K3 League, prioritizing budget arguments only for baseball is unfair."

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*This content was translated by AI.