KBO intervenes in Lee Dae-ho's pay raise case

KBO intervenes in Lee Dae-ho's pay raise case

Lee Dae-ho By Yi Whan-woo Lotte Giants slugger Lee Dae-ho’s salary will be decided by the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) by Thursday after negotiations with his team failed. Lee, the only KBO player subject to salary arbitration for the upcoming season, has asked for 700 million won compared with the Giants’ offering 630 million won. The KBO is supposed to settle the matter within 10 days of receiving the case files last Monday. The Giants infielder wants a 310 million-won hike from his 390 million-won salary last season, where he topped seven of the eight batting stats with a .364 average, 44 home runs, 133 RBIs, 99 runs, 174 hits, .444 on-base percentage and .667 slugging percentage. The 28-year-old was also credited with an unofficial world record of home runs in nine consecutive games last August. The remarkable feat led to the effect of more than 3 billion won in sales of Giants’ merchandising according to Lee. The batter also claims he has contributed to this with 54 percent of the products sold relating to him. Lee’s demand for a salary raise is based on his financial contribution to the Giants and would equal the KBO’s highest salary ever for a player on contract, set by Doosan Bears infielder Kim Dong-joo in 2009. The Giants, on the other hand, regards the 630 million won deal as the best they can offer for Lee with a 10-year KBO career. The amount matches the salary of former Samsung Lions slugger Lee Seung-yeop now with the Orix Buffaloes of the Nippon Professional Baseball, the most expensive deal among the KBO’s ninth-year players who made their debut in the league. The club has a contrasting view as Lee brought less benefits for the Giants through merchandising sales than he claims. “The total sales in 2010 were 3 billion won, and about 15 percent of those were products related to Lee. Moreover, the net profit was only around 20 million won,” a Giants official said. Another conflict involves a contract condition that allows a club to enjoy commercial benefits by using a player’s image including his name and portrait rights, and such profit will be reflected in the player’s salary. Lee argues his club did not consider the profit made in his salary offer as he was quoted as saying “The Giants never mentioned any sales amounts in any negotiations I’ve had in the past.” The KBO has previously made arbitration based on the files submitted by players and their clubs. And in this process it has almost always stood by the clubs. 야구: KBO, 조정위원회에서 이대호 연봉 결정 한국야구위원회 (KBO)는 소속 구단 롯데와 연봉협상 합의점을 찾지 못한 이대호의 올해 연봉을 목요일까지 결정하기로 했다. 이대호는 7억 원을 요구했으나 롯데는 6억 3천만 원을 제시했고, 이대호는 KBO 소속 선수 중 유일하게 올해 연봉조정신청을 했다. 이대호가 1월 10일 조정 절차 요청을 한 이상, KBO는 규약에 따라 신청 10일 내인 20일까지 한 쪽의 손을 들어줘야 한다. 지난 시즌 타율 0.364, 홈런 44개, 133 타점, 99 득점, 174 안타, 출루율 0.444, 장타율 0.667로 타격 7관왕 위업과 더불어 8월 9경기 연속 홈런 신기록을 세운 이대호는 작년 연봉 3억 9천 만원에서 3억 천만 원이 인상된 연봉을 요구했다. 이대호는 구단 상품 매출 기여도를 근거로 연봉 인상을 요구하고 있다. 이대호 측에 따르면 선수 초상권을 활용한 롯데의 작년 상품 매출은 30억 원 이상이며, 이 중 이대호 관련 상품은 전채 매출액의 54%이다. 반면 구단 측 입장은 다르다. 구단 관계자는 “2010년 상품 매출액은 30억원이며, 이 가운데 이대호 관련 상품 비중은 15% 내외였다. 아울러 순이익은 2,000만원대”라고 밝혔다.

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