Choo Shin-soo (40-SSG Landers) wanted to keep the news to himself when he agreed to pay for the rehabilitation of ailing martial artist Kim Dong-hyun (35-known by his stage name Ma Dong-hyun).
However, Kim Dong-hyun expressed his gratitude on his social networking service (SNS), and Choo Shin-soo’s good deed went public.
“It was a personal thing, so I said to Kim Dong-hyun, ‘Let’s keep it between us,'” said Choo Shin-soo on the 26th at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul. “There are many people who do better things. I don’t think it’s something to brag about,” he said.
He continued, “Rather, there are many things I learned from meeting him. It was a grateful time for me as well.”
Choo Shin-soo heard about Kim Dong-hyun’s story from the media, including Yonhap News, and met him during the SSG Busan away trip (19-21 July).
The former UFC fighter, who has been working as a mixed martial arts instructor and slowly preparing to return to fighting, was diagnosed with cervical spinal cord myelopathy late last year.메이저놀이터
“After being paralysed, I’ve been fighting myself, not my opponent,” he said.
Choo Shin-soo said, “Although we play different sports, we can relate to each other as athletes. After watching the documentary, I felt like supporting Kim Dong-hyun and asked to meet him,” he said. “When I met him and talked to him, I realised that he had a really good personality.”
After the topic of ‘first child’ came up, the empathy grew.
Kim has a daughter who is about 200 days old.
Choo Shin-soo said, “Kim Dong-hyun recently had his first child. When I had my first child (Chu Mubin-kun), I wasn’t financially well off either.” “He wants to be a proud family man. I had my first child when I was in the minor and major leagues, and I played harder for my family. While thinking about how to help him, I decided to support his rehabilitation (which costs about 1 million won per month).”
On the 22nd, Kim Dong-hyun posted on social media, “I had lunch with Korea’s best hitter, Choo Shin-soo, who contacted me after hearing about my news. We talked about life as an athlete and a family man, and I thought that there is always a lot to learn from athletes at the top of any sport, not just martial arts.” “Choo Shin-soo agreed to sponsor my rehabilitation for five years. He didn’t want it to be publicised, but I want to tell you this,” he wrote.
“I want to wake up as early as possible and live a life where I can be stronger than before and be with those who are struggling,” he said.
Choo Shin-soo, who did not want his sponsorship of Kim Dong-hyun to be publicised, was also proud of Kim Dong-hyun’s determination to rehabilitate.
As far as the public knows, Choo Shin-soo has donated more than 2 billion won.
Even when he was playing in Major League Baseball in the United States, when he visited Korea in the off-season, he donated large sums of money to Chungju Sacred Heart School, youth baseball, patients with incurable diseases, and families of firefighters.
In 2020, he provided a $1,000 stipend to all 191 minor leaguers of the Texas Rangers, who were struggling to make ends meet due to the lack of minor league games due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Upon signing with SSG in 2021, he donated 1 billion won out of his annual salary of 2.7 billion won. In addition, he sponsored baseball equipment for SSG’s lower-salaried players and donated money to his alma mater in Busan and a school baseball team in Incheon, where SSG is based.
“I came to the United States empty-handed, but I gained a lot from baseball. “Baseball juniors are my priority, but I don’t think I need to pick a ‘field’ where I can help. I’ve gained a lot from baseball, but I’ve also been loved by fans in other professions. My family, including my wife, is also very active in donating. We want to give back to as many people as possible.”