The Korea Baseball Organization "is expected to decide Friday" whether telecom company KT or housing giant Booyoung will be granted the operating rights for South Korea's 10th professional team, according to Jung Min-ho of the KOREA TIMES. The two conglomerates announced their bids Monday, and now an evaluation committee will review the applications, looking at about 30 categories including financial stability. A decision "is expected at a board of directors meeting on Friday." So far, KT has formed a partnership with the city of Suwon to create a team, while Booyoung is looking to form a club based in North Jeolla province and is backing plans by cities Jeonju, Iksan, Gunsan and Wanju. While "KT is trying to promote Suwon’s marketability, Booyoung is highlighting the need to decentralize the nation’s most popular sport, which already has four teams in Seoul and Gyeonggi province." KT Public Relations Manager Kim Dong-woo said, "In terms of population size and accessibility to public transportation, Suwon definitely has an edge over the cities in North Jeolla Province." Booyoung Chair Lee Joong-keun said that his company will build a new 25,000-capacity baseball stadium in Jeonju if the Jeolla bid is selected, "pledging it will continuously cooperate with the residents for sports development in the region" (KOREA TIMES, 1/8).
