Troubled Lotte Giants name new manager

SEOUL, Oct. 31 (Yonhap) -- The Lotte Giants, the South Korean baseball club troubled by recent reports of players' mutiny, on Friday announced their first base coach Lee Jong-woon as the new manager.

The Busan-based Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) club said they inked Lee, 48, to a three-year contract, with an annual salary of 200 million won (US$189,200) and a signing bonus of 200 million won.

Lee is a former outfielder who spent nine of his 10 KBO seasons with the Giants, starting in 1989. He retired with the Hanwha Eagles in 1998, having batted .272 in 739 games. Lee was with the Giants for its 1992 championship win.

"Lee is a great communicator who is gentle on the outside but tough on the inside," the Giants said. "As a former player for the organization, Lee has great knowledge of the current group of players. We felt he was the right person to restore order in the club house."

The Giants said Lee's inauguration ceremony will be held at a later date. They're the fifth KBO club to name a new manager this month. All five of those teams missed the playoffs.

Lee is taking over a club in turmoil. A recent media report claimed that the players voiced strong opposition to an earlier managerial candidate that they felt was too tight with the management for their liking.

The team's captain, Park Joon-seo, sent a group text message to reporters, denying the veracity of the report. Yet only hours later, the players issued a statement saying the text had been sent under pressure from the front office.

The players also called for the head of an official in the front office, claiming he'd been the root of the problems who'd created factions in the club house and fostered mistrust between the players and the coaches.

The Giants issued an apology, acknowledging a lack of communication and differences in perspectives, but didn't say how exactly they will try to resolve the current situation.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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