"I'll Prove the Class of a 14-Win Pitcher" Choi Min-seok, Wearing the Taegeuk Mark for the First Time, Given Starting Assignment Against Hong Kong [Nagoya AG]

[Financial News] After making a dominant start by routing Chinese Taipei, the South Korea national baseball team is targeting a second straight win. Leading the charge will be Choi Min-seok, the Doosan Bears' next-generation ace.
South Korea has named right-hander Choi Min-seok as its starting pitcher for the second Group B game against Hong Kong in the baseball tournament at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. The game will be held at Toyohashi Municipal Baseball Stadium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, at 6:30 p.m. on the 22nd.
Choi Min-seok will take on the major responsibility of starting a game after making his national-team debut and wearing the Taegeuk mark for the first time. In his second professional season, Choi has made remarkable strides with the Doosan Bears this year, rapidly emerging as one of the league's top pitchers. He has posted an outstanding 14–4 record, a 2.73 ERA and 121 strikeouts in 25 regular-season appearances. He is tied with Im Chan-kyu of the LG Twins for the league lead in wins and ranks second overall in ERA, demonstrating both dominant stuff and consistency.

The assignment is especially meaningful because Choi is carrying on the flawless momentum of a senior teammate from his club. In the first game against formidable Chinese Taipei the previous day, Doosan's homegrown ace Gwak Been delivered a dominant performance, allowing no hits or runs while issuing two walks over six innings. He led South Korea to a 5–0 victory. Now, it is up to Choi to continue that winning momentum on the mound.
Hong Kong, meanwhile, lost its opening game after suffering an upset defeat to Thailand and has selected right-hander Mak Jun-bae as its starter against South Korea. After getting off to a smooth start through a perfect combination of pitching and hitting, South Korea has fans watching Toyohashi to see whether it can use Choi's arm to secure back-to-back shutout wins in group play.
[email protected] Jeon Sang-il Reporter