Kia Tigers outfielder Kim Ho-ryung and reliever Sung Yeong-tak both earned their first All-Star selections in the Korea Baseball Organization as injury replacements Thursday.
The KBO announced Kim, 33, will take the place of his Tigers teammate Choi Hyoung-woo, who will miss Saturday's All-Star Game after suffering a right hamstring injury Tuesday.
Choi was the top vote getter for the designated hitter spot for the "Nanum" team, made up of players from the Tigers, the Hanwha Eagles, the LG Twins, the NC Dinos and the Kiwoom Heroes. With Choi out, the runner-up in the voting by fans and fellow players, Moon Hyun-bin of the Eagles, will be the starting DH for the Nanum side.
Moon had already been selected as a reserve, and with Moon moving into the starting lineup, Kim was named to the Nanum team.
Kim, a longtime backup outfielder, has been thrust into the starting role this season with injuries piling up for the Tigers. He has responded with a solid .285/.366/.438 batting line in 48 games and has played strong defense in center field.
Later Thursday, the league office announced Tigers reliever Yoon Young-cheol will miss the All-Star Game with some elbow issues. Yoon himself had been an injury replacement for another Tigers pitcher, starter Adam Oller, who was ruled out last Friday with right shoulder discomfort.
Sung, 20, will take Yoon's spot. The right-hander has been lights out since making his KBO debut on May 20, having pitched to a 0.71 ERA over 25 1/3 innings in 21 outings.
Sung began his career with a 17 1/3-inning scoreless streak -- the longest such run in franchise history and third longest in the KBO. The streak was snapped on June 24 and Sung gave up a run again two days later. In six outings since, Sung has strung together seven shutout innings.
This year's All-Star Game will be played at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark, the Eagles' new stadium in Daejeon, 140 kilometers south of Seoul. (Yonhap)
