Contract compels Suwon's favorite daughter, aespa's Karina, to throw first pitch for Lotte Giants

Despite famously being a Suwon native, aespa's Karina had to throw her first pitch for Busan's Lotte Giants, sparking confusion among fans.

Girl group aespa member Karina prepares to throw the ceremonial first pitch as a guest of the Lotte Giants in their game with the SSG Landers at the Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on Sunday. [YONHAP]

Girl group aespa’s Karina is famously from Suwon, Gyeonggi. So why did she throw her inaugural first pitch for Busan’s Lotte Giants instead of for her hometown’s KT Wiz?

Baseball fans were left puzzled when the “Supernova” singer was invited to throw the ceremonial first pitch at the Lotte Giants’ game with the SSG Landers in Busan on Sunday.

It wasn’t that she hadn’t been contacted by the Suwon team, but that she now happens to be the face of Lotte’s beer brand Krush and is obligated to fulfill that part of the deal, according to a media outlet reporter on Monday.

aespa's Karina is the brand model for Lotte's beer brand Krush [LOTTE CHILSUNG BEVERAGE]

“When Lotte Chilsung Beverage signed the brand advertising contract with Karina, they put in a clause for the first pitch as well,” Sports Kyunghyang reporter Kim Ha-jin said in an appearance on YouTube channel Muniball TV.

“Karina is the daughter of Suwon. She was born in Ji-dong in [central] Suwon so the KT Wiz contacted her [about the first pitch]. But her agency, SM Entertainment, turned it down after her deal with Lotte was inked, and apologized to KT saying it couldn’t be helped.”

Kim said the Krush advertising fees paid to the agency was a “staggering amount,” which was why Karina “would not have had a choice” but to throw for the Lotte Giants.

The aespa member is the first brand model for Krush, which was launched in November 2023.

Karina throws the ceremonial first pitch as a guest of Lotte Giants in their game with the SSG Landers at the Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on Sunday.[YONHAP]

On Sunday, Karina stood on the mound at the Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan for the KBO game.

“It’s the first time I’m throwing the first pitch, and it’s an honor to do it for the Lotte Giants,” she said before throwing the ball.

She drew applause from the crowd and online for throwing the ball precisely in the strike zone.

BY KIM JU-YEON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]