So Hyun-jun: Czech Republic Match & Fan Support – Dong-A Ilbo

Today’s WBC first match, Jung Woo-joo also appears

So Hyun-jun (25, KT, photo) was selected as the first starting pitcher for the Korean baseball team aiming to advance to the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time in 17 years. Jung Woo-joo (20, Hanwha), a rookie second-year pro, is scheduled to take the mound next.

Korean national team coach Ryu Ji-hyun (55) unveiled the starting pitchers for the first Group C match against the Czech Republic (7 p.m. on the 5th) at the 2026 WBC official press conference held at Tokyo Dome in Japan on the 4th. Coach Ryu said, “So Hyun-jun will be the starter, and then Jeong Woo-joo will lead the team in the early stages of the first game of the tournament. We have to use pitchers in a limited schedule. There is also a limit on the number of pitches, etc. If we win as planned, there will be no strategic problems in the next game.”

In terms of power, the Czech Republic is evaluated to be one step below Korea. However, Korea lost to a weaker team in the first game of three consecutive tournaments from 2013 (Netherlands) to 2017 (Israel) and 2023 (Australia) and was eliminated in the group stage in all of them. Hyun Soo-Jun said, “I will do my best to show a performance worthy of being a Korean baseball starting pitcher with 12 million spectators.”

After taking a day off on the 6th, Korea will face Japan, the defending champion and a strong contender for the title, on the 7th. They will face Taiwan on the 8th and Australia on the 9th. The top two teams from Group C will board a charter flight to Miami, USA, where the quarterfinals will be held.