(Daegu = Yonhap News) Reporter Jang Hyeon-gu = With the Samsung Lions reclaiming the top spot in the professional baseball Korean Series for the first time in 12 years, attention is being paid to whether other professional teams in the Samsung Sports Team will also begin a revival.
Samsung defeated KT Wiz 12-1 in Game 5 of the Korean Series, which ended at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on the 8th, with a series record of 4 wins and 1 loss, and lifted the championship trophy for the first time in 12 years since 2014.
Despite finishing the regular season in second place, Samsung was evaluated as a relatively 'weak team' not only in the playoffs against the KIA Tigers but also in the Korean Series against KT, which ranked first in the regular season.
My joy was doubled as I overcame the harsh evaluation and popped the winning champagne.
The Samsung Lions were at their peak by winning the regular league and Korean Series for four consecutive years from 2011 to 2014.
However, in accordance with Samsung Group's policy of reducing investment in sports teams, the professional sports team was transferred from its main affiliate to Cheil Worldwide, the group's advertising and marketing company, and the situation changed significantly from before.
As the system changed to emphasize cost efficiency and profitability, the Lions, Suwon Samsung Bluewings (soccer), Seoul Samsung Thunders (basketball), Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Bluefangs (volleyball), and Yongin Samsung Life Insurance Bloomings (women's basketball) were unable to reproduce the old movies.
In addition, after Samsung was investigated for bribing Choi's mother and daughter under the pretext of sponsorship and support during the Choi Soon-sil scandal, investment in sports teams declined further.
Samsung, which has been leading the Korean sports industry with big spending, closed its wallet and took a steep downward turn in professional sports. It is truly a dark age.
Among Samsung's five professional sports teams, the only team that has won a championship during the dark times of the past 10 years is Samsung Life Insurance's Bloomings, which finished fourth in the regular league in the 2020-2021 season and made the playoffs and won a major comeback.
Since 2016, the Lions have fallen to a bottom-tier team that has not even made it to the postseason for five years. Although it rebounded to second place in the regular league in 2021, it remained in the bottom again for consecutive years from 2022 to 2023.
Then, he improved his skills in fall baseball for two consecutive years, finishing as runner-up in the Korean Series in 2024 and fourth in the regular league in 2025, and finally returned to the top with a pleasant rebellion in 2026.
The season management strategy stood out, including the timely recruitment of Chris Fedek, a right-handed orthodox pitcher with a total of 32 wins in Major League Baseball (MLB), and the efficient replacement of two injured foreign pitchers.
Bringing back Choi Hyung-woo, a free agent (FA) who focused on strengthening the destructive power of the left batting line, for the first time in nine years is also considered an act of God.
Coincidentally, along with the Lions' victory, the sudden change of behavior of Samsung's other sports teams also caught the attention of the media.
Suwon Samsung, a traditional team led by coach Lee Jeong-hyo, who is considered the best strategist in the K League, confirmed on the 8th that it would return to the first division three years after experiencing the humiliation of falling to the second division.
The Samsung Thunders, who had been humiliated at the bottom five times in a row until last season, surprised the basketball world by setting a new record of 9 consecutive wins at the beginning of this season under coach Kim Sang-sik, leading the team with 10 wins and 2 losses as of the 7th.
Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance's Bluefangs, led by proven new head coach Tommy Tilikainen, are also escaping the 'dark history' of failure in spring volleyball for eight consecutive years until the 2025-2026 season and are raising expectations for a return to the postseason with performance different from previous years in the early part of the 2026-2027 season.
