Steady Stream of Baseball Figures Pay Respects at Baek Incheon’s Funeral; LG Chairman Koo Kwang-mo Sends Wreath

Baseball Figures with Deep Ties to Baek, Including Lee Seungyeop and Yoo Younggoo, Pay Respects at Funeral Parlor
KBO Funeral to Be Held; Procession Scheduled for 8 a.m. on August 17

On the morning of August 15, the funeral parlor at Dankook University Hospital in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, where the late former manager Baek Incheon is laid to rest, has seen a steady stream of visitors from the baseball community paying their respects.

Koo Kwang-mo, Chairman of LG Group—the parent company of the LG Twins, the team that Baek led to the Korean Series championship upon its founding in 1990—sent a condolence wreath to honor the late manager.

Yonhap News

Lee Seung-yeop, hitting coach of the Yomiuri Giants in Nippon Professional Baseball and who grew into one of Asia’s premier sluggers under Baek's guidance during his time as manager of the Samsung Lions, also sent a wreath to pay tribute to his mentor on his final journey.

The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) is assisting with the funeral arrangements by dispatching front office staff to support the family onsite. Yoo Young-goo, former KBO Commissioner, Kim Kwang-soo, President of the Ilguh Association, Park Cheol-soon, Vice President, and Koo Kyung-baek, Secretary General, also visited the funeral hall to remember the late manager.

Young-an Yoo, former manager of the Police Baseball Team and a fellow alum of Kyungdong High School, along with representatives from the school's alumni association, also paid their respects. Current team managers such as Kim Kyung-moon (Hanwha Eagles), Yeom Kyung-yeop (LG Twins), and Kim Won-hyung (Doosan Bears), as well as former managers like Kim Jae-bak (LG Twins) and Lee Man-soo (SK Wyverns), sent condolence wreaths to express their sympathies. Huh Koo-yeon, KBO Commissioner, is scheduled to visit on August 16 to pay his respects.

Former manager Baek had suffered deteriorating health due to four recurrences of cerebral infarction and was transported to the hospital after cardiac arrest on the morning of August 14. Despite temporarily regaining blood pressure and pulse following CPR, his condition remained critical due to cerebral hemorrhage, and he passed away at 6:41 a.m. on August 15.

In recognition of his contributions, KBO has decided to hold a KBO Funeral—the second in its history, following the passing last year of former acting KBO Commissioner Lee Yong-il. The funeral committee will be chaired by veteran baseball figure Kim Soh-sik, former Vice President of the Korea Baseball Association. The funeral procession is scheduled for 8 a.m. on August 17.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.