Daesun Joojo, Discovering Korean Baseball Prospects for 6 Consecutive Years

Busan-based local company Daesun Brewery has been a cornerstone in the development of domestic baseball for six years.

On the 17th at 3 PM, Daesun Brewery awarded a total prize of 10 million KRW to the winner of the 6th Daesun High School Choi Dong-won Award and their affiliated school at the 10th Choi Dong-won Award ceremony held in the auditorium of Busan Bank headquarters.

The ‘Daesun High School Choi Dong-won Award’ was newly established in 2018 with the sponsorship of Daesun Brewery, who shared the vision for the development of Korean high school baseball. It is an award given to the pitcher who showed the most outstanding performance that year, a position all high school baseball pitchers dream of.

The prize money of 10 million KRW is split equally, with 5 million KRW awarded to the recipient and 5 million KRW to the recipient’s high school baseball team.

This year’s recipient was selected through a rigorous evaluation by scouts from the 10 professional baseball teams. The candidate criteria were ▶ at least 15 games pitched ▶ at least 50 innings pitched ▶ at least 4 wins ▶ an earned run average (ERA) of 2.60 or lower ▶ at least 55 strikeouts.

Right-handed pitcher Kim Taek-yeon (right) from Incheon High School is taking a commemorative photo after receiving the Choi Dong-won Award.

The awardee is right-handed pitcher Kim Taek-yeon from Incheon High School. Kim Taek-yeon, whose outstanding control is his strength, was highly evaluated for his excellent game management skills, diligent training attitude, and character, wielding a fastball with a top speed of 152 km/h and an average speed in the high 140 km/h range.

He is especially recognized as the player who best demonstrated the ‘Choi Dong-won spirit’ of pitching dedication by taking the mound for five consecutive days up to the bronze medal match at the U-18 Baseball World Cup, showing his commitment to the team.

Kim Taek-yeon said, “As a high school baseball player, I have reached a moment that everyone has dreamed of at least once,” and added, “Receiving an award that I set as a goal after seeing senior Yoon Tae-hyun from Incheon High School, a three-time recipient, makes it even more valuable and meaningful.”

Daesun Brewery CEO Jo Woo-hyun said, “We are pleased to be able to deliver dreams and hope to talents who will take Korean baseball to the next level,” and expressed his hope that Kim Taek-yeon will shine brilliantly on the professional stage as well.

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