Korea Baseball Championship franchise in Seoul, South Korea
The Kiwoom Heroes (Korean: 키움 히어로즈) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Seoul. They are a member of the KBO League. The Heroes play their home games at Gocheok Sky Dome in Gocheok-dong, a neighborhood located in the southwestern part of Seoul. The Heroes mascot is Teokdori (턱돌이; Mr. Jaw).
In 2014, the Futures League squad changed its name to Hwaseong Heroes (화성 히어로즈), differentiating from the first string.[1][2]
In 2019, Hwaseong Heroes renamed as Goyang Heroes (고양 히어로즈).
History
The franchise was originally known as the Sammi SuperStars and had subsequent incarnations as the Chungbo Pintos and Pacific Dolphins. The team was renamed the Hyundai Unicorns after being sold to Hyundai in 1996, and was relocated from Incheon to Suwon. The Unicorns won the KBO championship four times (1998, 2000, 2003 and 2004).
In January 2008, the team was disbanded. After that, Centennial Investments formed a new team called Woori Heroes. Unlike other clubs in the KBO League, which are controlled by chaebol companies, the Heroes are owned by a group of individuals led by Lee Chang-suk, rather than being owned by their title sponsor. During the 2008 season, Woori Tobacco Company terminated their naming sponsor agreement, citing that the Heroes had not yet paid the full KBO founding fee, forcing the team to trade most of its star players for money. For the remainder of the 2008 season and into the 2009 season, the team used only "Heroes" as their name.
On 8 February 2010, naming rights were sold to Nexen Tire.
On 6 November 2018, naming rights were sold to Kiwoom Securities.[3] The Kiwoom Heroes made it to the Korean Series in their first year, but lost to the Doosan Bears to finish second.[4]
