The 10 clubs of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) unanimously voted in as their new commissioner CHUNG Ji-taik, the 70-year old vice chairman and chief operating officer of Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction.
The KBO headquarters in Seoul hosted the inauguration ceremony on Tuesday, 5 January.
Commissioner Chung said that his term in office has four key objectives. The main goal will be running a safe 2021 season amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Chung also said he will explore ways to guarantee "sustainable growth" to the 10 clubs and to boost the interest of the fans.
The former Doosan Bears interim owner, who succeeds former prime minister CHUNG Un-chan in the commissioner role, also said that KBO "wants to make fans proud" at the Tokyo Olympics. A gold medal is the ultimate goal. "A strong performance in international competitions will create a good opportunity for a new golden age for the KBO," added Chung.
On a final note, the new commissioner expressed hopes to extend to the 2021 season the broadcasting deal with ESPN, one of the national Major League Baseball (MLB) rights holders, after it carried KBO games to fill air time following the delayed start to the MLB season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chung added: "We'll seek to make profits using online platforms. Our focus will also be on creating different types of content for all demographics."
The Korea Baseball Softball Association (KBSA) will hold its presidential elections online on Tuesday, 12 January. The three candidates are NA Jin-gyun (a former professional player and the former Secretary-General of the Korea Professional Baseball Players Association, KPBPA), LEE Soon-chul (a former professional player and coach, currently an analyst with the SBS Sports Channel) and LEE Chong-hoon (currently serving as the KBSA Vice President).
