LG Twins' Oh Ji-hwan attends fan's wedding, keeping preseason vow

LG Twins captain Oh Ji-hwan emceed a fan’s wedding over the weekend, fulfilling a months-old vow. The fan had asked the infielder ahead of the KBO season to host his wedding if the Twins won the Korean Series and Oh was named MVP.

LG Twins captain Oh Ji-hwan, center, attends a fan's wedding on Nov. 26. [JOONGANG ILBO]

LG Twins captain Oh Ji-hwan emceed a fan’s wedding over the weekend, fulfilling a months-old vow.

The fan, Kim Nam-hyun, had asked the infielder during a media day in March ahead of the KBO season to host his wedding if the Twins won the Korean Series and Oh was named MVP.

“Regardless of whether I win or not, I will definitely host the wedding,” Oh said.

Capping a historic season, the Twins claimed the Korean Series title for the first time in 29 years after their Game 5 victory on Nov. 13. Oh, who pulled off a three-run home run during the ninth inning of Game 3 to earn the Seoul team a 2-1 lead over the KT Wiz, was named the Series MVP.

Oh attended the wedding over the weekend with his wife.

“I think I finished the year well in a good mood because I can see the unified championship I promised on Media Day and even the wedding ceremony of my fans after receiving the MVP personally. I'm really happy to keep my promise, and I think I was able to celebrate my fan's marriage with a happier heart," Oh said at the wedding.

Oh Ji-hwan, right, speaks at the fan's wedding on Nov. 26. [JOONGANG ILBO]

The 33-year-old infielder was on the receiving end of another longtime promise hanging on the Twins’ Korean Series win.

Former LG chairman and baseball fanatic Koo Bon-moo had purchased a Rolex watch for 80 million won ($60,300) in 1998. He told the club to give it to the Twins’ next Series MVP.

But the club wouldn’t record another title for another two-and-half-decades, and Koo died in 2018.

Oh, however, refused to accept the watch, saying he “considers the watch as the former chairman’s keepsake.” He returned it to current LG chairman Koo Kwang-mo, the elder Koo’s son.

BY MARY YANG AND KIM HYO-KYUNG [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]