"We’re Definitely Going This Time": Lee Eui-lee, Who Tops Out at 156 KPH, and Jin-wook Kim, With His Unreal Command, Set Their Sights on a Joint Run at the Nagoya AG [FN Issue]

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[The Financial News] Let's go back six years, to 2020.
That year, the opening game of the Golden Lion Flag National High School Baseball Tournament produced a matchup that amateur baseball fans still talk about today.
It was a tense pitching duel between two elite left-handers who were expected to anchor Korea's mound for the next decade. The first meeting between Lotte Giants No. 1 pick Jin-wook Kim, then at Gangneung High School, and Kia Tigers No. 1 pick Lee Eui-lee, then at Gwangju Jeil High School, had arrived.
The two dominant southpaws entered the pros in style, each signing a massive bonus of 370 million won and 300 million won, respectively. But the professional stage was unforgiving, and their journeys were marked by as much disappointment and tears as glory. Now, in 2026, the two desperate rivals, still without military service completed, are burning fiercely toward the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya in September.
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Kim's form this season has been nothing short of historic. He has completely erased the command issues and left-handed hitter troubles that once followed him as a rookie.
Against the title-contending KT Wiz, he threw eight innings and allowed one run. Against the LG Twins, who were chasing first place, he delivered 6.2 scoreless innings.
His high-release four-seam fastball, which regularly touches 150 kph, and pinpoint command at the corners of the strike zone have quickly lifted Kim to the top of this season's KBO League among domestic starting pitchers. He is the first domestic starter this season to throw eight innings in a game. He has also recorded quality starts in two straight outings for the first time since his debut.
Behind that frightening surge lies a relentless source of motivation.
Kim even gave up the stability of a Sangmu Phoenix enlistment, betting everything on making the Asian Games roster this season. That urgency has erupted on the mound as elite stamina and power, turning him into a savior for the Lotte staff.
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Lee Eui-lee's national team story is even more heartbreaking. At the Tokyo Olympics, he proudly wore the Taegeuk mark and delivered powerful pitching, but the team failed to win a medal and he was left disappointed.
He then redoubled his efforts and set his sights on the Hangzhou Asian Games, only to suffer the pain of missing the final roster after a series of setbacks, including injury and controversy.
Still, the Tigers' 'left-handed prince' did not break.
In a game against the Doosan Bears on the 17th, he sent Jamsil into a frenzy with a stunning 156-kph fastball.
He is easily the fastest left-handed pitcher in the KBO League this season. He shattered the nightmare of his previous outing, when poor command had undone him, with a dominant five-inning, eight-strikeout shutout.
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The two left-handers, born in the same year and who have been aware of each other since high school, are now each other's best source of motivation on the professional stage.
Lee Eui-lee praised Kim's recent run, as his classmate has gone 2-0 with a 19.1-inning stretch over his last three games. Lee said, "Jin-wook really worked hard, but things just hadn't gone his way, so he must have been very frustrated. Still, I feel good that he is finally being rewarded for all that effort. Watching him pitch also helps me learn a lot."
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Even so, he did not hide his competitive fire. When asked whether he was looking forward to a starting matchup with Kim this season, Lee said, "I’ll climb even higher," showing his determination.
Jin-wook Kim and Lee Eui-lee. Once rivals who split the high school stage between them, they are now targeting the national-team one-two punch that could shape the future of Korean baseball. Kim brings precision and innings-eating durability after taking a do-or-die approach to the mound, while Lee has returned from pain with the most explosive velocity of his career.
When the synergy of these two men, competing in good faith, finally comes together, Ryu Joong-il's Asian Games gold-medal campaign will shine brighter than ever.
They play for different clubs, but the hearts of Lotte and Kia fans watching these two rise are connected as one.
The day the hero of Sajik-dong and the prince of Gwangju-KIA Champions Field stand side by side with the Taegeuk mark on their chests and let out a golden roar from the mound in Nagoya, the bright future of Korean baseball will be charging toward the fall of 2026.
jsi@fnnews.com Reporter Jeon Sang-il Reporter