“Ma~” Build the Hall of Fame Quickly... Gijang-gun, KBO 'Show of Force'

Busan Gijang-gun Urges Swift Promotion of 'Korea Baseball Hall of Fame' Construction in Gijang
Solo Protest at KBO on 7th, Requests Cooperation from President Chung Un-chan for Agreement Implementation

On the afternoon of the 7th at 3 PM, Oh Gyu-seok, the mayor of Gijang County, held a solo protest in front of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) in Seoul, urging the establishment of the "Korea Baseball Hall of Fame."

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Do you know where the Korean professional baseball "Hall of Fame" will be established?

The professional baseball Hall of Fame exists only in the American and Japanese professional baseball leagues. They are located at the Cooperstown Museum in New York State and the Tokyo Dome in Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, respectively.

Although its history is shorter compared to these two countries, many domestic baseball fans eagerly await the Korean Professional Baseball Organization (KBO) Hall of Fame.

The location for the Korean Baseball Hall of Fame has already been decided as Gijang-gun, Busan. However, even after six years, there has been no news of groundbreaking.

In response, Gijang-gun, which oversees the "Hall of Fame" site, has taken action. On the 7th, Gijang-gun Mayor Oh Gyu-seok and related officials visited the Korea Baseball Organization office in the Korea Baseball Hall building in Dogok-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

Mayor Oh held a one-person protest at 3 p.m. in front of the Korea Baseball Hall building, urging the construction of the "Korea Baseball Hall of Fame."

He then had a meeting with KBO Commissioner Chung Un-chan, demanding the prompt implementation of the execution agreement for the construction of the "Korea Baseball Hall of Fame."

The "Hall" construction project was decided to be built in Gijang-gun, which received the highest score after fierce competition with metropolitan cities such as Seoul and Incheon, with Busan City and Gijang-gun.

In March 2014, Busan City, Gijang-gun, and the KBO signed the "Execution Agreement for the Construction of the Korea Baseball Hall of Fame." Busan invested 10.8 billion KRW in the project to build the Hall of Fame, Gijang-gun provided a 1,850㎡ site and developed a regulation baseball stadium and auxiliary facilities, and the KBO was to manage the operation.

Accordingly, Gijang-gun invested a total of 28 billion KRW, including 8.5 billion KRW from Hyundai Motor Company, to create four regulation baseball fields, one little league baseball field, one softball field, a control center, lighting towers, and other auxiliary facilities at the Gijang Hyundai Motor Dream Ball Park. Additionally, an indoor baseball practice facility and a baseball experience center are planned to be newly constructed on the site.

However, during the 2015 central investment review, due to the condition to operate as an independent accounting system, the estimated annual operating cost burden of about 2 billion KRW (estimated by KBO), and disagreements between Busan City and the KBO following the replacement of the KBO commissioner and secretary-general who initially promoted the project, the detailed design service was suspended, causing difficulties in project progress.

Mayor Oh said, "The Gijang Hyundai Motor Dream Ball Park has already successfully hosted the 2016 Women's Baseball World Cup, the 2018 Gijang International Baseball Festival, and the 2019 World Youth Baseball Championship, establishing world-class baseball infrastructure."

With the completion of the Hall of Fame, which embodies the hopes of baseball players and fans, Gijang-gun, Busan, will be established as the mecca of Korean baseball.

Mayor Oh stated, "Since Gijang-gun has already invested a huge amount of capital to create the conditions for the Hall of Fame, it must be built as soon as possible."

Gijang-gun also emphasized that it is faithfully fulfilling the conditions of the execution agreement. The county operates not only regulation and little league baseball fields but also the only softball field in Korea, and plans to invest an additional 12 billion KRW beyond the already invested 28 billion KRW to build an indoor baseball practice facility, baseball experience center, auxiliary parking lot, and plaza.

Like Cooperstown in New York, USA, which attracts 300,000 to 500,000 tourists and baseball enthusiasts annually, Gijang-gun's expectation to become a baseball sanctuary is equally strong.

KBO Commissioner Chung Un-chan responded to Gijang-gun, saying, "We have been diligently promoting the construction project of the Korea Baseball Hall of Fame so far, and we will hold a board meeting soon to responsibly complete the necessary procedures for construction."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.