Jung Hoo Lee Bio
Jung Hoo Lee (Korean: 이정후) is a South Korean professional baseball outfielder who currently plays for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). Born on August 20, 1998, in Nagoya, Japan, Lee built a decorated career in the KBO League with the Nexen/Kiwoom Heroes before making the jump to the major leagues on a landmark contract. Across both leagues he has been recognized as a contact hitter, a reliable defender, and one of the most marketable athletes in the sport.
Known to fans as the “Grandson of the Wind,” Lee has earned KBO Rookie of the Year honors, a KBO Most Valuable Player Award, five consecutive KBO Golden Glove Awards, and two KBO batting titles. He has represented South Korea at the U-18 Baseball World Cup, the 2018 Asian Games, the 2019 WBSC Premier12, the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, and the 2023 and 2026 World Baseball Classic.
Early Life and Background
Jung Hoo Lee was born on August 20, 1998, in Nagoya, Japan, where his father, Lee Jong-beom, was playing for the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball. After Lee Jong-beom signed with the KIA Tigers in 2001, the family relocated to Gwangju, South Korea. The family later moved to Seoul in 2012 when his father retired, and Lee enrolled at Whimoon Middle School before attending Whimoon High School, a sports-focused institution known for producing top Korean athletes.
Baseball was a constant presence in Lee’s upbringing, and his father’s stature in the game shaped his path. Lee Jong-beom, a former KBO star nicknamed the “Son of the Wind,” was initially reluctant for his son to pursue the same sport and tried to introduce him to other activities. He eventually agreed on the condition that Lee bat left-handed, even though he was naturally right-handed, a switch that helped him develop a smooth left-handed swing and an opposite-field approach.
After adopting the left-handed stance, Lee looked up to Japanese star Ichiro Suzuki, who also threw right and batted left, and chose jersey number 51 to honor him. By age seven, he was already drawing attention for his natural skill and dedication, foreshadowing his future as a professional.
Path to Baseball
Lee committed to Whimoon High School and quickly emerged as one of the top amateur players in South Korea. His discipline at the plate and his poise in the field made him a national prospect, and he appeared for South Korea at the 2016 U-18 Baseball World Cup, helping the team capture the title. The experience exposed him to high-level international competition and confirmed his readiness for a professional career.
In the 2017 KBO League draft, the Nexen Heroes selected Lee in the first round as an infielder, alongside infielder Kim Hye-seong, who would become a close friend and longtime teammate. Following spring training, Lee made the team’s Opening Day roster at 18 years old without spending time in the KBO Futures League, an unusually fast rise for a teenager.
The Heroes quickly converted Lee into an outfielder, and he responded by becoming the first high school rookie to appear in every game for a KBO team in a single season. That debut campaign set the foundation for his rise as one of the league’s brightest young stars.
Jung Hoo Lee Career
Early Career (2017)
Lee’s first professional season in 2017 was historic. He finished the year batting .324/.395/.417 with two home runs, 47 runs batted in, 12 stolen bases, and 179 hits, the latter a new KBO rookie record. His ability to spray line drives across the field and play a steady outfield earned him the KBO League Rookie of the Year Award, signaling the arrival of a new face of Korean baseball.
The early returns gave the Heroes confidence to build their lineup around Lee. Even as he adjusted to the demands of a 144-game schedule, his plate discipline and baserunning instincts stood out, and his chemistry with Kim Hye-seong added to a promising young core in Seoul.
KBO Breakthrough (2018–2022)
In 2018, Lee battled a shoulder injury that sidelined him for six weeks, but he still improved on his rookie numbers, slashing .355/.412/.477 with six home runs and 57 RBI while finishing third in the league in batting average. He captured his first KBO Golden Glove Award and emerged as one of the league’s most complete young hitters.
Lee’s 2019 season featured a .336/.386/.456 slash line with six home runs and 68 RBI, and he was voted MVP of the 2019 KBO playoffs for the first time. In 2020, he added another Golden Glove while posting a .333/.397/.524 line with 15 home runs, 101 RBI, and an OPS of .921, cementing his status as a middle-of-the-order force.
The 2021 season saw Lee bat .360/.438/.522 with 7 home runs, 84 RBI, 10 stolen bases, and an OPS of .959, leading the league in batting average and earning another Golden Glove. On October 25 at Daejeon Hanwha Life Eagles Park, he hit for the cycle against the Samsung Lions, one of the signature moments of his KBO career.
Lee’s 2022 campaign was his most dominant. Playing 142 games, he hit .349/.421/.575 with 23 home runs, 113 RBI, a 5.1 percent strikeout rate, and a career-high .996 OPS. He became the youngest and fastest player in KBO history to reach 1,000 hits at age 23 in 747 games, breaking a record previously held by his father. He won the KBO Most Valuable Player Award, another Golden Glove, a second batting title, and the Playoff MVP, while leading the league in batting average, hits, RBI, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage.
San Francisco Giants Era (2024–Present)
After the 2023 season, the Heroes posted Lee to MLB on December 4, 2023, and on December 14 he signed a six-year, $113 million contract with the San Francisco Giants, who also paid a posting fee of $18.825 million to the Heroes. He quickly opened his major-league account, hitting his first MLB home run on March 30, 2024, against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park, with family members, including his father, in attendance. A left shoulder injury suffered while crashing into the outfield wall on May 12 led to season-ending labrum surgery on May 17, limiting him to 37 games in which he hit .262/.310/.331 with two home runs and eight RBI.
Lee rebounded in 2025, playing 150 games for the Giants and slashing .266/.327/.407 with eight home runs, 55 RBI, and 10 stolen bases. He led the team in batting average, base running value, strikeout rate, doubles (31), and triples (12). On September 26, he hit his 12th triple of the season, tying Ichiro Suzuki for the most triples by an Asian-born player in a single MLB season and ranking third in MLB and second in the National League for the year.
Driving Style and Strengths
Lee is widely praised for his exceptional bat-to-ball skills, plate discipline, and gap power, which allow him to spray line drives to all fields rather than relying on over-the-fence power. His defensive reads and routes in center and right field have continued to refine in the major leagues, and his low strikeout rate anchors lineups. He blends contact hitting with smart baserunning, regularly ranking among team leaders in doubles, triples, and base running value.
Notable Events and Milestones
Signature moments include his record-setting 179-hit rookie season, his hit-for-the-cycle game in 2021, and his record-breaking 1,000th KBO hit in 2022 that surpassed his father’s mark. He delivered the winning RBI for South Korea against Taiwan at the 2018 Asian Games and captained South Korea to the quarterfinals of the 2026 World Baseball Classic for the first time in 17 years.
Jung Hoo Lee Career Wins
Across his professional career, Jung Hoo Lee has compiled a verified haul of awards that includes one KBO Rookie of the Year Award, one KBO Most Valuable Player Award, five consecutive KBO Golden Glove Awards from 2018 through 2022, two KBO batting titles in 2021 and 2022, two KBO Playoff MVP honors in 2019 and 2022, and six KBO All-Star selections from 2017 through 2023. His achievements have established him as one of the most decorated active players to transition from the KBO League to Major League Baseball.
KBO League Highlights
Lee’s KBO League career with the Nexen/Kiwoom Heroes (2017–2023) featured a rookie-record 179 hits in his debut season, three top-three finishes in batting average, and five consecutive Golden Glove Awards. He set a new standard for plate discipline with a 5.1 percent strikeout rate in 2022 and authored a hitting-for-the-cycle performance against the Samsung Lions on October 25, 2021.
His crowning achievement in the KBO came in 2022, when he led the league in batting average, hits, RBI, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage while earning MVP, a batting title, and a Playoff MVP. He also became the youngest and fastest player in KBO history to reach 1,000 career hits, surpassing a record previously held by his father, Lee Jong-beom.
Other Wins and Performances
In MLB with the San Francisco Giants, Lee has produced a .283 career batting average with 14 home runs and 89 runs batted in through games of June 20, 2026, and tied Ichiro Suzuki’s Asian-player record for triples in a single MLB season in 2025. Internationally, he has contributed to South Korea’s U-18 Baseball World Cup title in 2016, the 2018 Asian Games gold medal, and quarterfinal runs at the 2019 WBSC Premier12, Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, and the 2023 and 2026 World Baseball Classic.
Jung Hoo Lee Family
Family Background and Baseball Lineage
Jung Hoo Lee is the son of Lee Jong-beom, a celebrated KBO League star who also played in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball for the Chunichi Dragons and earned the nickname “Son of the Wind.” The elder Lee’s career directly influenced his son’s path, and the comparison has carried over into the media with the younger Lee branded the “Grandson of the Wind.” Father and son remain closely connected, with Lee Jong-beom attending his son’s first MLB home run on March 30, 2024.
Personal Life
Lee attended Whimoon High School in Seoul, a school known for producing top Korean athletes, and has based his professional life between South Korea and the United States since joining the San Francisco Giants. Off the field, he is a brand ambassador for Adidas, Tag Heuer, McLaren, Paldo, and USANA, and he has modeled for photo shoots with Dior and Louis Vuitton, helping him land on the Forbes Korea Power Celebrity 40 list at No. 6 in 2024 and No. 7 in 2025.
2025 Season Performance
The 2025 season marked Jung Hoo Lee’s first full year as an everyday player for the San Francisco Giants and his return to form following the 2024 shoulder surgery. He played in 150 games and slashed .266/.327/.407 with eight home runs, 55 RBI, and 10 stolen bases, while leading the team in batting average, base running value, strikeout rate, doubles (31), and triples (12). His consistency at the plate and his work in the outfield helped stabilize the middle of San Francisco’s lineup on a game-by-game basis.
Lee’s most memorable stretch of 2025 came late in the season, when his elite triples output pushed him onto MLB leaderboards. On September 26, his 12th triple of the year tied Ichiro Suzuki for the most triples by an Asian-born player in a single MLB season, a notable benchmark given Lee’s long-stated admiration for Suzuki. The performance underscored his unique blend of contact ability and baserunning instincts.
Heading into 2026, Lee enters the second year of his six-year, $113 million contract with renewed health and a clear role in the Giants’ outfield. He is also expected to remain a fixture in South Korea’s national team plans, having been chosen as captain for the 2026 World Baseball Classic. With his track record of awards and his growing presence in the major leagues, Lee’s outlook remains strong as he continues to expand his game and his international profile.
