'Another blow to Korean baseball': A giant of Korean baseball has passed away. Oh Woo-hong, the former manager who led Korea to its historic first World Baseball Championship title, died at the age of 95.

*This content was translated by AI.

Oh Woo-hong, the former manager who led Korean baseball to its first-ever world championship title for an Asian nation, passed away on the 19th at the age of 95.

The late Oh began his baseball career as a pitcher at Dongnae Middle School (now Dongnae High School), where he received the Third Jeon Guk-ji-gu (CEO) Secondary School Baseball Championship Trophy (now known as the Golden Saja-ji) Woo Su-seon (수상)_. He later played for industrial teams including Joseon Jeon-eop and Namseon Electric after attending Sungkyunkwan University.

After retiring as a player, he dedicated himself to nurturing future talents as an amateur and industrial baseball coach. In 1981, he was appointed manager of the Korean national baseball team.

In September 1982, at the 27th World Baseball Championship held in Seoul, he led top players of the era including Kim Jae-park, Choi Dong-won, Han Dae-hwa, and Sun Dong-yeol to a championship victory.

He orchestrated a dramatic victory over Japan in the final match that year, establishing a golden monument as the first Asian nation to win the World Baseball Championship. That same year, he was honored with the Kyorin Order of Sports Merit and the World Baseball Softball Confederation Manager of the Year Award for his contributions.

Following this, Oh Woo-hong served as manager of MBC Chungyong from 1984 to 1985 and Lotte Giants from 1988 to 1989, continuing his career as a professional coach. As a manager, he recorded a total of 177 wins in KBO League history.

Notably, during his long tenure as an amateur coach, he mentored numerous stars including Kim Eung-yong, Kang Byung-cheol, Heo Goo-yeon, and Kim Yong-hee, earning widespread acclaim within the baseball community for years.

After retiring from coaching, he contributed to the development of Korean baseball by holding key positions such as the first chairman of the Korea Baseball Coaches Association (1991), Special Advisor to the KBO President (1991–1996), Member of the KBO Elder Advisory Council (1991–2026), and Chairman of the KBO Rules Committee (1992–1996).

The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) decided to hold Oh Woo-hong's funeral with full honors as a KBO funeral in recognition of his lifelong dedication to advancing Korean baseball.

This marks the third time a KBO funeral has been held, following former KBO Acting President Lee Yong-il in September last year and former manager Baek Incheon on August 15 this year.

*Time of death: 4:49 p.m., August 19, 2026

*Visitation hall: Room 2, Morgue, Bundang Jeisaeng Hospital (Basement Level 2)

*Departure for burial: 5:30 a.m., August 21, 2026

*Burial site: Yongin Pyeongonui Forest

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*This content was translated by AI.