Koo Ja-wook and Won Tae-in kept their promise to win, “President, I’m looking forward to a good contract.”

“Before the postseason started, the president (Yoo Jeong-geun) said, ‘Just win, and I’ll take care of all the money.’ Since I made you win, wouldn’t you come back with a good contract?”

Won Tae-in (26) and Koo Ja-wook (33), key pitchers who helped the professional baseball Samsung Lions win the Korean Series for the first time in 12 years, enjoyed the joy of winning and posed a cheerful challenge to the upcoming free agent (FA) market.

Samsung won 12-1 in Game 5 of the Korean Series against KT Wiz held at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on the 8th, taking the top spot with a series record of 4 wins and 1 loss.

Koo Ja-wook was selected as the series MVP with a batting average of 0.500 (10 hits in 20 at-bats), 1 home run, 6 RBI, and a big hit in 5 games, and Won Tae-in became the winning pitcher after pitching 5 innings as the starter in Game 5, allowing 4 hits and 1 run.

The two players, who will both qualify as free agents (FA) after this season, confessed their honest feelings when asked about their future in an interview after the game.

Won Tae-in, who took the microphone first, said, "I believe in the president's promise," and laughed, "I've talked a lot about raising (Kang) Min-ho's ransom every time he was a free agent, but now it's time for Min-ho to do it for me and Ja-wook."

Koo Ja-wook, whose 5-year, 12 billion won non-FA multi-year contract is coming to an end, also did not hide his expectations, saying, "I don't have an agent, so I have to negotiate on my own, but since you said all you need to do is win, I guess I'll just have to wait."

He continued, “I trust you, boss. I heard that LG gave the 2023 Korean Series MVP (Oh Ji-hwan) a Rolex watch worth 200 million won, so I believe and expect that Samsung will take the best care of him.”

The possibility of expanding overseas was also not hidden.

Won Tae-in, who had not confirmed whether he would challenge the U.S. or Japanese stage, said, "Due to my lack of results this season, I was not in a position to bring it up during the season, but in fact, I had already appointed an overseas agent. I was afraid that public opinion would not be good, so I did not announce it and poured everything into every fall baseball game."

Then Koo Ja-wook, who was next to him, also added a surprising remark.

Koo Ja-wook said emphatically, "If there are any overseas team officials who are reading this interview, please contact me. I really want to try out on the American stage. I'm serious."

Behind the cheerful jokes, there were numerous hardships that led to victory.

Won Tae-in, who suffered from injuries and bad luck during this year's regular season, moved to the bullpen when closer Kim Jae-yoon got injured during the postseason, and after making a relief appearance in Game 2 of the Korean Series (allowing 1 unearned run in 1⅔ innings), he took the starting mound for Game 5 after only three days of rest.

Won Tae-in said, "It wasn't painful, but it felt like I was throwing with a sandbag on my arm. Around the 3rd inning, my arm stopped responding." He looked back and added, "Remembering what Minho told me, 'Ga-eul is Won Tae-in, just look at my mitt and throw,' and I gritted my teeth and threw with the intention of holding on until the 5th inning."

The moment the win was confirmed, Won Tae-in was the first to run to catcher Kang Min-ho.

He smiled, "Minho was crying alone, so I ran over to comfort him, but the catcher's mask caught his face and the bridge of his nose was dented, but I was so excited that I didn't even know the pain. It was the goal of all of us to help Minho win."

Won Tae-in, who was born and raised in Daegu, pledged when he joined the team in 2019 that he would “become a leading figure in rebuilding the Samsung dynasty.”

He expressed his ambition, saying, "I'm sorry to the fans for keeping my promise late. I'm glad I kept my promise to decide the championship at Lions Park. A true dynasty is making the team feel that winning is natural. I hope this year is the start of that."