Choo Shin-soo reveals details of his $200,000-a-year MLB pension

Former MLB player Choo Shin-soo, left, appears on a recent episode of tvN STORY's "What To Do with Leftovers." Captured from tvN STORY's broadcast

Former Major League Baseball (MLB) player Choo Shin-soo has revealed details about the pension and welfare benefits he is entitled to as a former MLB player.

On the July 10 episode of tvN STORY’s "What To Do with Leftovers," Choo appeared as a guest alongside fellow former MLB players Kim Byung-hyun and Oh Seung-hwan. The three former players discussed the size of MLB pensions and various benefits available to players.

Oh said that pension payments increase with years of service, adding, “In Choo’s case, he will receive about 300 million won ($220,000) a year.”

Choo explained that he would receive the pension for the rest of his life. He also said that if he were to die, the payments would go to his wife, and if both spouses were no longer alive, the remaining benefits would go to their children.

Oh, who said he expects to receive about 100 million won a year in pension benefits, joked, “I usually brag about that elsewhere, but I feel small in front of Choo and Kim.”

Kim responded, “But you have gold, don’t you?” prompting laughter. Oh was a member of the Korean national baseball team when it won the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in China.

The former players also discussed other benefits available to MLB players, including private jet travel and health insurance. Choo said that showing an MLB insurance card at a U.S. hospital can result in “astonishing” coverage, adding that players pay very little out of pocket for medical treatment.

Choo made his MLB debut with the Seattle Mariners in 2005. He returned to the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) in 2021 and retired from professional baseball after the 2024 season. He married Ha Won-mi in 2004, and they have two sons and a daughter.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.