Gulbiz (Kim Ji-chan, Kim Hyun-joon, and Lee Jae-hyun), their best friends, entered last year. How much Kim Young-woong, who showed the best performance last year, will receive. 안전놀이터

Kim Young-woong was definitely the hit player of the Samsung Lions last year. Kim played in 126 games last year, his third year since his debut, and posted a batting average of 0.252 (115 hits in 456 at-bats) with 28 homers and 79 RBIs, a slugging percentage of 0.485 and an on-base plus 0.321 with an OPS of 0.806. 

He has shown rapid growth in slugging capability. After hitting three home runs in the two years since joining the team, he drew 28 arches last year alone. In his first postseason (PS), he also drew two arches each in the playoffs (PO) and the Korean Series (KS), leading his team to win the runner-up prize in the KS. His team ranked first in homers (185) last year, and he also holds a significant stake in the team. 

His extraordinary efforts paid off. Ahead of the last season, Kim held the bat long enough. Coaches recommended him to hold the bat short in order to increase batting accuracy, but he insisted that he would hold the bat long in good memory from his high school days when he was considered a rising star. As a result of his swing determined to show what he prepared for last winter, Kim achieved a valuable achievement of 28 home runs. 

Kim Young-woong is considered a key player of Samsung this year as well. He needs to achieve more home runs and better performance in order to achieve higher performance (KS title) than last year. The club is paying more attention to Kim's growth. "Kim Young-woong is the present and future of Samsung, and he is the team's key player this year as well," Samsung's general manager Lee Jong-yeol said. 

Then, how much is Kim's annual salary? Kim was paid 38 million won (38,500 U.S. dollars) last year. Unlike Lee Jae-hyun, who joined the club after taking the main position since his debut, whose annual salary rose vertically to 60 million won in 2023 and 140 million won in 2024, Kim has not been able to achieve an annual salary increase due to his lack of performance during the previous two seasons. However, his performance is different this year, as he has made a leap from a backup prospect to a key player. His annual salary could significantly increase. 

His first career annual salary of 100 million won is worth pursuing. Dubbed Samsung's future, the "Gulbiz" already reached the top of last year's salary range. Kim Chi-chan, who became the starting leadoff player, received 160 million won (120,000 U.S. dollars) last year after making inroads into the top of the list in 2022. Kim Hyun-joon, who posted a batting average of 0.275 in the late-20s in 2023, also received 140 million won (120,000 dollars) in compensation for his performance. Kim's performance last year is no better than those of them. Now it is Kim's turn.

Samsung is reportedly in the final phase of annual salary negotiations. Attention is focusing on whether Kim Young-woong, who has become a "hero" of Samsung, will start the new year in a good mood with a gift worth billions of dollars.