Kyungpook National University sophomore outside hitter Lee Yoon-soo (20) joins Samsung Fire with the No. 1 overall pick in the rookie draft.
Samsung Fire earned the No. 1 overall pick in the Korea Volleyball Organization (KOVO) V-League 2023-2024 Men’s Rookie Draft on Tuesday at Mayfield Hotel in Gangseo-gu, Seoul. Last season’s last-place finisher Samsung Fire received the top pick with a 35 percent chance of being selected in the reverse order of the final standings, and head coach Kim Sang-woo was the first of the seven clubs to take the stage and call out Lee Yoon-soo. The 197.1-centimeter Lee Yoon-soo drew the attention of professional clubs when he won the Best Outside Hitter award at the Asian Under-20 Championship in September last year.
Samsung Fire, which has been struggling to get out of the bottom half of the standings lately, has been bolstering its roster this past offseason with a series of first overall picks, from foreigners (Yosvani Hernandez) to Asian quota players (Eddie).
Samsung Fire’s good fortune continued this season with a 3-1 record, ending a promising start to the season. After Samsung Fire, Woori Card received the second overall pick in the marble lottery, with KB Insurance (30%), OK Financial Group (20%), Woori Card (8%), KEPCO (4%), Hyundai Capital (2%), and Korean Air (1%) taking the percentage. Woori Card selected Hanyang University sophomore outside hitter Kim Hyung-geun (21), while OK Financial Group, which received the third pick in the first round, selected Inha University sophomore setter Park Tae-sung (22).
Samsung Chemical received the fourth pick in the first round. Samsung Fire traded a rookie first-rounder to Korean Air last offseason in exchange for Son Hyun-jong and a rookie first-rounder in this year’s draft. However, defending champion Korean Air’s first-round pick came much earlier than expected, and the team also snagged sophomore middle blocker Yang Soo-hyun, 21, from Kyungpook National University.
“I was worried about the fact that the Korean Air pick could come early,” said Kim Sang-woo, who was concerned about the lack of depth in the roster. “We focused on adding height, and it worked out well in that regard.” He added, “I’m satisfied with the tall and promising players we picked. Both of them are players we had our eye on.” Regarding Lee Yoon-soo, the No. 1 overall pick, he said, “A 198-centimeter outside hitter is rare. His proven offense in college made him the best choice for us.” Samsung Fire added Chungbuk National University setter Lee Jae-hyun in the second round and Hanyang University libero Park Yoo-hyun in the third round, along with Hanyang University outside hitter Lee Hyun-jin, the twin brother of Hyundai Capital setter Lee Hyun-seung.
KB Insurance has selected Suseong High School outside hitter Yoon Seo-jin (18), considered the “biggest name in high school,” with the fifth overall pick. The son of former Honam Jungyu player and SPOTV commentator Kim Sung-min, Yoon is an up-and-coming player who captained the team at the U19 World Championship in August and helped lead South Korea to its third place finish in 30 years. KEPCO selected Myongji University senior outside hitter Shin Sung-ho, 22, with the sixth pick of the first round, while Hyundai Capital selected Chungnam University sophomore middle blocker Kim Jin-young, 21, with the seventh pick.
The rookies will sign with their teams within two months with a contract set according to their draft order: 160 million won for the first and second round picks, 140 million won for the third and fourth round picks, 120 million won for the fifth and sixth round picks, and 110 million won for the seventh round pick. The annual salary is 40 million won for players selected in the first to third rounds and 24 million won for training players. 짱구카지노 주소