Once Again, Korea Fails to Scale the Wall of Archrival Japan... Wonho Choi's Team Falls 1-5, Finishing Runner-Up at APBC for Third Straight Time

[Financial News] The clock of Korean baseball has once again stopped at TOKYO DOME. Korean baseball, which had hoped to revive its next generation of national team players, could not get past archrival Japan's deep pitching staff and finely executed play, settling for a bitter runner-up finish.
South Korea's national baseball team, led by manager Wonho Choi, suffered a comprehensive 1-5 defeat to Japan in the 2026 Asia Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) final at TOKYO DOME in Tokyo, Japan, on the 15th, unable to overcome the gap in strength on both offense and defense.
As a result, South Korea finished runner-up for the third consecutive time, having been stopped by Japan in the inaugural tournament in 2017, the second tournament in 2023, and now the third tournament. Even more painful is the losing streak in Korea-Japan matchups featuring core players from the senior professional first teams. Since its dramatic victory in the 2015 Premier12 semifinal, South Korea has fallen into a deep slump, losing 13 straight games to Japan.



South Korea fielded a starting lineup of Kim Ji-chan (Samsung), Kim Do-yeong (Kia Tigers), Kim Ju-won (NC), Ahn Hyun-min (KT), Kim Hwi-jip (NC), Moon Jeong-bin (LG), Moon Hyun-bin (Hanwha), Cho Hyeong-woo (SSG Landers), and Park Jae-hyun (Kia Tigers).
The start was not bad. In the top of the first, leadoff hitter Kim Ji-chan reached on an infield single, seemingly putting South Korea on the front foot. But the heart of the lineup, Kim Do-yeong and Kim Ju-won, were overpowered by Japanese starter Hiroto Takahashi and struck out swinging in succession. Kim Ji-chan, the runner at first, then failed in his stolen-base attempt, and the inning ended meekly.



South Korea paid for giving up the momentum with runs. In the bottom of the first, South Korean starter Kim Gun-woo (SSG Landers) was hit by a solo home run to left by Misho Nishikawa, giving up the first run. Then, in the bottom of the third, he allowed leadoff hitter Yudai Shoji to get a hit and steal a base. A throwing error by catcher Cho Hyeong-woo compounded the trouble, leaving South Korea in a no-outs, runner-on-third situation. Muneyama then hit an RBI double to the right of the right fielder, putting South Korea behind 0-2.
The game tilted decisively in the bottom of the fifth. Kim Gun-woo, who had allowed no further runs through four innings, suddenly began to falter. After giving up a leadoff single to Daiga Kojima, he fielded Shoji's sacrifice bunt but threw wildly to first, creating a dangerous no-outs, runners-on-first-and-second situation. Pitching coach Park Jeong-jin went to the mound to try to halt the momentum, but it was not enough. After a full-count battle with Tomoya Masaki, Kim Gun-woo left a fastball over the middle on the sixth pitch and gave up a painful three-run homer to left-center. The score quickly ballooned to 0-5.


South Korea mounted a comeback in the top of the seventh. With two outs and a runner on third, after Ahn Hyun-min doubled down the left-field line and Kim Hwi-jip advanced the runner, pinch hitter Ahn Jae-seok (Doosan Bears) hit an RBI single to left, finally getting a run back. But avoiding a shutout was all South Korea managed.
In its final at-bat in the top of the ninth, leadoff hitter Kim Do-yeong hit a double over the center fielder's head off Japan's third pitcher, Hibiki Shinohara, keeping alive the hope of scoring with no outs and a runner on second. But the next batters, Kim Ju-won, Ahn Hyun-min, and Kim Hwi-jip, were retired in order, and the game ended. The middle-of-the-order hitters Kim Do-yeong, Ahn Hyun-min, and Kim Ju-won each finished 1-for-4, left to rue the missed opportunity.
South Korea had gone 1-2 in the preliminary round-robin, against Australia (lost 7-8), Japan (lost 5-9), and Taiwan (won 6-4), and had scraped into the final on the TQB tiebreaker. But it once again fell short at the threshold of the championship. South Korea earned 10 million yen (approximately 80.9 million won) in runner-up prize money and will head home on the 16th with major concerns, including the gap in pitching depth and the need for more focused, precise defense—issues that were evident throughout the tournament.


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