South Korea has finalized its roster for the 2026 Asia Professional Baseball Championship, which begins Thursday in Tokyo, Japan. Korea will be one of four teams competing alongside Japan, Chinese Taipei and Australia.

Korea has reached the finals of the last two editions, in 2017 and 2023, falling to Japan both times. The team will look to win the tournament, led in large part by two of the best hitters in the KBO.

Players to watch:

Do-yeong Kim- The 23-year-old is coming off another spectacular season with the KIA Tigers. He hit .308/.413/.647 with career highs of 45 home runs and 118 RBIs. Had he not missed time to compete at the Asian Games, Kim was on his to a 50 home run campaign.

His big season carried over into the playoffs. In eight games, he hit four home runs and drove in 13 runs, nearly lifting KIA to the Korean Series. After winning the 2024 MVP award, he is once again one of the favorites to take home his second KBO MVP. He would be just the sixth player in KBO history to win multiple MVP awards. He will be the marquee name on this Korean squad.

Hyun-min Ahn- The 23-year-old outfielder is coming off another big season with the KT Wiz, despite dealing with a hamstring injury that sidelined him for two months.

He hit .298/.441/.506 with 14 home runs and 63 RBIs. He ranked fifth in OPS among players with at least 400 plate appearances while ranking second in walk rate. He is among the elite hitters in the KBO and, alongside Kim, is a cornerstone of the Korean national team for years to come.

Jin-uk Kim- The 23-year-old left-hander is the expected No 1 starter for South Korea. He made 26 starts for the Lotte Giants in 2026. In 144 1/3 innings, he posted a 4.12 ERA with 123 strikeouts.

South Korea will open the tournament Thursday against Australia in the opening game at noon local time. On Friday, Korea will face host Japan at 7 pm local time before wrapping up its tournament schedule against Chinese Taipei at 7 pm Saturday.

The top two teams will advance to Sunday’s championship game, while the bottom two teams will compete for third place.

Full roster:

RHP Tae-hyeong Kim(KIA Tigers)
RHP Si-won Park(LG Twins)
RHP Kang-hoon Woo(LG Twins)
RHP Ro-un Lee(SSG Landers)
RHP Jeong-min Park(Lotte Giants)
RHP Jun-hyeok Lee(NC Dinos)
RHP Min-jun Kim(SSG Landers)
RHP Jun-yong Choi(Lotte Giants)
RHP Jun-pyo Jhun(Kiwoom Heroes)
RHP Yeong-tak Sung(KIA Tigers)
RHP Young-woo Kim(LG Twins)
LHP Dong-uk Cho(Hanwha Eagles)
LHP Keon-woo Kim(SSG Landers)
LHP Jin-uk Kim(Lotte Giants)

Catchers:
Hyeong-woo Cho(SSG Landers)
In-seo Heo(Hanwha Eagles)

Infielders:
Whee-jip Kim(NC Dinos)
Do-yeong Kim(KIA Tigers)
Ju-won Kim(NC Dinos)
Jae-hyeon Lee(Samsung Lions)
Jeong-bin Moon(LG Twins)
Dong-hui Han(Lotte Giants)
Jae-seok An(Doosan Bears)

Outfielders:
Min-suk Kim(Doosan Bears)
Hyun-min Ahn(KT Wiz)
Jae-hyun Park(KIA Tigers)
Ji-chan Kim(Samsung Lions)
Hyun-bin Moon(Hanwha Eagles)