Lee wore number 51 his rookie season with the Giants, the same number he wore through his seven-year career with the Kiwoom Heroes...Lee chose the number after his favorite player, Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki, who was on the rise with the Orix Buffaloes in 1998 when Lee was born in Japan...Three years later, Ichiro would become the first position player to make the leap from Nippon Professional Baseball to the Majors...During 2024 Spring Training, with the help of Giants manager Bob Melvin, Lee was able to meet his idol, Ichiro, prior to a Spring Training game against the Mariners. “They talked about preparation and what it means,” Melvin told the SF Chronicle. “You could tell, for a guy that’s played as much as \[Lee\] has and had as much success as he’s had, it was an out-of-body moment for him. So it was really cool"...Is good friends with Rays infielder and former Kiwoom Heroes teammate Ha-Seong Kim...Kim played for Giants manager Bob Melvin in San Diego for two seasons from 2022-23. “He was my spiritual leader in Korea. I was able to start dreaming big dreams thanks to his great advice. It’s at once surreal and exciting to put aside our friendship and face each other”...Lee made his MLB debut against Kim and the Padres on March 28, 2024...Also is friends with Hyeseong Kim, who recently signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Lee and Kim were also teammates for Kiwoom during Lee's time in the KBO...Lee is the son of Jong-beom Lee, a former KBO MVP whose nickname is Son of the Wind. He earned the label after stealing a KBO-record 84 bases in 1994 en route to being the league’s Most Valuable Player...In his introductory press conference, Jung Hoo called himself “Grandson of the Wind,” honoring his father’s legacy...His father’s 19-year playing career began in Korea for the Kia Tigers but eventually took him to the Chunichi Dragons in Nagoya, Japan, where Jung Hoo was born...Jong-beom was the 1993 Korean Series MVP winner after batting .310 to help Kia to a championship...Jong-beom Lee says he is a fan of San Francisco because his wife, Jeong-min Jeong, is. “She always wanted to come to San Francisco,’’ Jong-beom said. “ I love the history of the team. McCovey Cove, to me and Korean fans, that’s a big deal—and the Coca-Cola bottle. This stadium’s been in so many movies"...Lee has two dogs, a Pomeranian named Kao and a Chihuahua named Lua...Lee’s sister, Ga Hyun Lee, is married to Marlins reliever Woo-Suk Go. The two were wed in January 2023...Go signed with San Diego on Jan. 23, 2024, before being later traded to Miami in May 2024 in the deal that brought Luis Arraez to San Diego...Go served as the closer for the 2023 KBO champion LG Twins before coming to play in the United States...Lee and Go have been competing against one another on the field since Lee’s third year of middle school.
2024
Appeared in just 37 games and had a slash line of .262/.310/.331 with four doubles, two home runs and eight RBI in his first MLB season...Slugged his first career homer in his third MLB game on March 30 at SD...Hit his first career Oracle Park homer on April 20 vs. ARI, with his first career leadoff home run...His family, including his father, former All-Star Jong-beom Lee, was in the crowd...Suffered a right foot contusion while fouling a ball off his foot in Colorado on May 8 and missed three games…Inserted back into the lineup on May 12 vs. Cincinnati, then exited the game in the first inning after dislocating his left shoulder...Was placed on the 10-day IL on May 13...Underwent season-ending left shoulder surgery on June 4 in Los Angeles...The surgery was performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache...Had an 11-game hitting streak from April 7-20 and a 13-game on-base streak from April 7-22...Struck out just 13 times in his 158 PA...His 8.2 K% was third-best in MLB at the time he went down...Lee swung and missed at just 24 of the 569 pitches he saw (4.2%)...Averaged 94.2 mph on his throws from the outfield, sixth-hardest among MLB position players at the time he went down.
2023
Appeared in 85 games for Kiwoom and slashed .318/.407/.456 with six home runs, 45 RBI and 50 runs scored...Had his season cut short after breaking his left ankle during a game against the Lotte Giants on July 22...Underwent season–ending surgery on July 27. Was able to make a brief appearance in the team’s final game on October 10, where Lee had one at-bat in his final KBO appearance...Played for South Korea in the 2023 World Baseball Classic and hit .429 with two doubles and five RBI in the tournament.
2022
Named the KBO’s MVP after slashing .349/.421/.575 in 142 games. Established career bests in homers (23) and RBI (113)...Once again led the KBO in average (.349) while also leading the league in hits (193), RBI (113) and OPS (.996).
2021
Led the KBO in batting average after hitting .360 in 123 games...Played for the South Korean national baseball team at the 2020 Summer Olympics (which were delayed until 2021).
2020
Won his third consecutive Gold Glove Award while batting .333 with 15 home runs, 101 RBI and a career-high .921 OPS.
2019
Hit .336 during the regular season to help the Heroes reach the Postseason. He was named a KBO Playoff MVP after helping Kiwoom reach the Korean Series...With Lee’s father, Jong-beom, also being named MVP in the 1993 Korean Series, it became was first time in league history that both father and son won a postseason MVP award...Following the KBO season, Lee played for the South Korean national baseball team at the 2019 WBSC Premier12.
2018
Slashed .355/.412/.477 in his second season with the Heroes...Represented South Korea at the 2018 Asian Games and delivered the winning RBI against Chinese Taipei.
2017
Selected by the Nexen Heroes in the 2017 KBO League draft held in 2016. He was originally taken as an infielder but converted to the outfield after joining the Heroes...Made the team’s Opening Day roster at just 18 years old without ever going through the KBO Futures League. He became the first rookie out of high school to appear in every game for a KBO team...Set a KBO rookie record with 179 hits and slashed .324/.395/.417 with two homers, 47 RBI and 12 stolen bases on his way to win the KBO League Rookie of the Year Award.
