The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee has selected the late Choi Dong-won — the Lotte Giants pitcher whose four victories in the 1984 Korean Series delivered the franchise its first championship — as the 2026 Korea Sports Hero, wikitree.co.kr reported. The committee announced the selection on the 4th after a review process that pitted Choi against two other Korean Olympic gold medalists: badminton coach Park Ju-bong and marathon runner Hwang Young-cho.
Choi, who died in 2011 at age 53 and was known as “the Iron Arm,” was one of three finalists for the honor, alongside Park, the 62-year-old national badminton team director, and Hwang, the 56-year-old 1992 Barcelona Olympic marathon champion. The committee said an awards committee weighed the finalists’ achievements and public support before landing on Choi. An induction ceremony is scheduled for next month, where the committee plans to honor the late pitcher’s contributions to Korean sports.
Four Wins in One Korean Series: The 1984 Performance That Defined a Career
Choi’s place in Korean baseball history rests on the 1984 Korean Series, when Lotte faced the Samsung Lions for the championship. Manager Kang Byung-chul mapped out a starting schedule of Games 1, 3, 5 and 7 for Choi, and the pitcher reportedly answered in the Busan dialect: “Understood. Well, let’s give it a try.”
Choi pitched in five games that series — Games 1, 3, 5, 6 and 7 — including Game 6, which was not on the original schedule, and went 4-1, the only pitcher in KBO history to record four wins in a single Korean Series. Those four victories powered Lotte to the first Korean Series title in franchise history. The feat is still cited every October when the Korean Series rolls around.
103 Wins, 1,019 Strikeouts and a 2.46 ERA
Choi’s career numbers back up the postseason heroics. Over his KBO career he recorded 103 wins, 1,019 strikeouts and a 2.46 ERA. His ERA ranks second-lowest in KBO history, behind only former national team manager Sun Dong-yeol’s 1.20.
He also helped South Korea win the 1977 IBAF Intercontinental Cup and the 1982 Baseball World Cup, raising the country’s profile on the international stage before the KBO’s pro era fully took shape.
Life After Playing: Coaching, Broadcasting and the Award That Bears His Name
Choi stayed close to the game after retiring.
Korean Sport & Olympic Committee chairman Yoo Seung-min praised Choi’s “unyielding will and fighting spirit,” saying the selection would put a spotlight once again on the legacy the late pitcher left in Korean baseball and serve as a model for future generations of athletes.
The Finalists He Beat: Park Ju-bong and Hwang Young-cho
Both of Choi’s fellow finalists won gold at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Park, 62, took men’s doubles badminton gold with Kim Moon-soo in the first Olympics to feature badminton as a medal sport, then added mixed doubles silver at the 1996 Atlanta Games. After coaching stints in Britain, Malaysia and Japan — where he guided Japan to its first Olympic badminton medal in 2012 and first gold in 2016 — Park returned home in April 2025 to take over the Korean national team, a contract running through the end of 2026.
Hwang, 56, won the men’s marathon in Barcelona in 2:13:23, beating Japan’s Koichi Morishita and earning the nickname “Hero of Montjuïc” for his late-race surge on the Montjuïc hill. His victory came 56 years after Sohn Kee-chung’s marathon gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics — and unlike Sohn, who ran under a Japanese name during the colonial era, Hwang crossed the line under the South Korean flag. Hwang added marathon gold at the 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games.
How the Korea Sports Hero Is Chosen
The Korea Sports Hero is an annual honor for athletes who raised the nation’s standing, contributed to the development of Korean sports and set an example for young athletes. The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee recommends candidates, selects finalists, and the Sports Hero Selection Committee then makes the final call based on achievements and public support surveys.
Committee Confirms 2026 Induction Ceremony
The late Choi Dong-won, the Lotte Giants pitcher who died in 2011. The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee announced him as the 2026 honoree after he beat finalists Park Ju-bong and Hwang Young-cho.
In the 1984 Korean Series he pitched in five games and went 4-1, the only pitcher to win four games in one Korean Series, leading Lotte to its first franchise championship.
What happens next? The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee plans to hold the 2026 Korea Sports Hero induction ceremony next month to honor Choi’s achievements and legacy.
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