Jung Hoo Lee played for the Kiwoom Heroes before joining Major League Baseball. The Seoul-based KBO club was his professional home from his debut in 2017 through the 2023 season.
Lee quickly became one of South Korea’s most recognizable baseball players. He won the 2017 KBO Rookie of the Year Award, earned the 2022 KBO Most Valuable Player Award, and helped Kiwoom reach the Korean Series in 2022. The club posted him after the 2023 season, allowing him to negotiate with MLB teams.
A common mix-up is the team’s former branding. Kiwoom’s franchise has also been known as the Nexen Heroes and earlier as the Woori Heroes, but “Kiwoom Heroes” is the canonical name for Lee’s final KBO club. San Francisco signed him before the 2024 MLB season, making the Heroes the correct answer rather than another Seoul-area KBO team.