The South Korea national baseball team defeated Taiwan to advance to the final of the 2026 Asia Professional Baseball Championship (APBC).
Under the guidance of manager Choi Won-ho, South Korea won 6-4 against Taiwan in the third match of the round-robin stage held at Tokyo Dome on November 14.
After suffering losses to Australia (8-7) and Japan (9-5), South Korea's victory against Taiwan brought their record to 1 win and 2 losses, tying them with Taiwan and Australia.
Despite the tie, South Korea secured second place based on the Team Quality Balance (TQB) metric, finishing with -0.115, ahead of Taiwan (-0.207) and Australia (-0.640), while Japan topped the group with three wins.
South Korea struck first in the game, with Park Jae-hyun (KIA Tigers) hitting a solo home run in the bottom of the third inning. Taking advantage of Taiwan's starting pitcher Hsu Shang-sheng's control issues, South Korea loaded the bases with three hit-by-pitches, and Kim Hwi-jip (NC Dinos) and Ahn Jae-seok (Doosan Bears) contributed RBIs to extend the lead to 3-0.
However, South Korea's starting pitcher Lee Ro-un (SSG Landers) faltered in the fifth inning, allowing Taiwan to tie the game. After giving up a solo home run to Cheng Sheng-an, Lee surrendered a two-run homer to Chang Lun-wei, bringing the score to 3-3.
In a critical moment, Kim Do-young (KIA) stepped up in the bottom of the fifth. Leading off, he hit a solo home run off Taiwan's second pitcher, Chen Mu-heng, reclaiming the lead for South Korea. This marked Kim's first home run of the tournament, breaking a slump where he had only one hit in eight at-bats in the previous two games.
With the lead restored, South Korea added to their score in the sixth inning. After two outs, Jo Hyung-woo (SSG) hit a double, followed by a two-RBI double from Park Jae-hyun, extending the lead to 5-3.
In the seventh inning, relief pitcher Jo Dong-wook (Hanwha Eagles) allowed a solo home run to Cheng Sheng-an, narrowing the score to 5-4. However, in the bottom of the seventh, Moon Jeong-bin (LG Twins) responded with a solo home run, restoring a two-run cushion.
In the ninth inning, Park Jeong-min (Lotte) closed out the game with a perfect inning, securing the victory.
On the mound, Lee Ro-un pitched six innings, throwing 97 pitches, allowing three hits, striking out nine, and giving up three runs, earning a quality start and the win.
At the plate, Kim Do-young contributed two hits, including a home run, in four at-bats with one RBI, while Park Jae-hyun also had two hits, including a home run, and two RBIs.
Having dramatically reached the final, South Korea will face Japan on November 15 at 7 p.m. in the same venue, seeking their first championship title. South Korea has previously faced Japan in the finals of both the inaugural tournament in 2017 and the second tournament in 2023, finishing as runners-up on both occasions.
The historical record against Japan is heavily skewed. In international competitions featuring professional players, South Korea has not won against Japan since a 4-3 victory in the semifinals of the 2015 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12, with a record of 1 draw and 12 losses over the past 11 years.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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