SSG Landers extend manager Kim Won-hyong's contract on three-year, ￦2.2-billion deal

SSG Landers manager Kim Won-hyong is thrown in the air by his players as they celebrate winning the 2022 Korean Series on Nov. 8. [YONHAP]

The KBO reigning champion SSG Landers have extended manager Kim Won-hyong’s contract for another three years in a 2.2-billion-won ($1.6-million) deal, the club announced Thursday.

Kim, who took the helm at the Incheon club for the 2021 season, will earn 500 million won in annual salary with a 700-million-won signing bonus.

The deal makes Kim the highest-paid manager in the KBO.

Kim led the SSG Landers to the KBO’s first wire-to-wire regular season title and then capped it off with the Korean Series trophy as well, finishing the season with 88 wins, 52 losses and four ties.

SSG announced after Game 4 of the Korean Series that it would seek to renew Kim’s contract regardless of the outcome of the championship series. The Landers went on to immediately win the next two games to lock in the series title, four games to two.

“We have re-signed Kim with the best possible deal in recognition of his achievement with this season’s wire-to-wire victory,” the Landers said in a statement.

Kim led the resurgent Landers to victory with a clear focus on good fundamentals since taking the helm at the club last year. The Incheon club rose to the top of the KBO through a combination of impressive pitching and a well-organized solid batting lineup.

"I'm happy to take a wire-to-wire victory this season and renew my contract with the club,” Kim said. “I would like to thank the owner for renewing my contract and for the generous terms of the deal, and I would like to thank the coaching staff, players, the president and the general manager, as well as the fans, for their support.”

While the Landers renewed Kim’s contract, the LG Twins, who finished second in the regular season but dropped to third in the playoffs, dropped manager Ryu Ji-hyun after the club crashed out of the second round of the playoffs.

The ninth-place Doosan Bears also parted ways with manager Kim Tae-hyoung, who, despite a rough year, was the most successful active manager in the league, replacing him with Lee Seung-yuop.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]