Korean baseball team SK Wyverns abruptly fired manager Kim Sung-keun Thursday, just a day after he said that he would leave the team when his contract expires at the end of the season.
The defending Korean champions said that they have tapped Lee Man-soo to fill the position until the season’s end. The club said that they found Kim’s sudden disclosure to step down in the middle of the season was debilitating to the team and admitted that they were confounded by his actions.
Kim in response said Thursday that he did not find his team’s move disappointing. “I heard earlier in the day ... and I think everything has worked out,” Kim said.
The 69-year-old and his team had been at odds over his contract. He has originally submitted his resignation but was turned down. He then talked to the press before the Wyverns’ home game against the Samsung Lions in Incheon, west of Seoul, that he felt the time was right for him to announce his plans.
Kim has led the Wyverns to Korean Series wins in 2007, 2008 and 2010, earning the moniker, “God of Baseball.” He is regarded as a perfectionist and for his tough but warm approach to the players.
Entering Wednesday’s game, the Wyverns sat in third among eight teams, 4.5 games behind the first-placed Lions. The top four advance to the postseason.
The Korea Baseball Organization champions will then play in the Asia Series against the league winners from Japan, Australia, Taiwan and China. Kim managed five teams before the Wyverns, including the LG Twins and the Lions.
After winning his second straight title, Kim re-signed for three years before the 2009 season.
Kim had earlier said that he felt slighted after the club delayed talks over his contract on three different occasions this year.
A team official said the two sides had agreed to discuss the contract situation after the season, and that the timing of Kim’s announcement was “perplexing.”