“Grandson of the Wind” Lee Jung-hoo, 26, left the Kiwoom Heroes last month to sign a massive six-year, $113 million contract with the San Francisco Giants. It’s the largest contract ever signed by a player from the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) to make the jump to Major League Baseball (MLB), and the guaranteed money alone ranks him third on the all-time Korean major league earnings list. If he continues to excel in the majors, it’s only a matter of time before he tops the all-time Korean major league earnings list.

Of the 28 Korean players who have played in the MLB so far, the most money has been earned by Choo Shin-soo (42-current SSG), who has played 16 years in the MLB. Shin-soo Choo moved to the United States immediately after graduating from Busan High School and played in the minor leagues before making his major league debut in 2005, batting .275 with 218 home runs, 782 RBIs, and 157 stolen bases in 1,652 career games for the Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds, and Texas Rangers. He earned a cumulative salary of $139.58 million (approx. 18.43 billion won) over his 16-year career, according to US sports site Sportrac.

Next up is the “Korean Monster” Ryu Hyun-jin (37). After seven seasons with the Hanwha Eagles, Ryu made his MLB debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2013 and has been on the MLB mound for more than a decade, earning $121.38 million.

Lee has yet to play a game, but his guaranteed contract alone puts him in third place. In fourth place is Chan Ho Park (51), the first Korean-American major leaguer. He made his debut in 1994 and earned approximately $85.45 million through 2010. In fifth place is Kim Ha-seong (29-San Diego Padres), the first Korean to win a Gold Glove ($21 million). Choo Shin-soo and Park Chan-ho are estimated to be worth more than that in real terms, after accounting for exchange rates and inflation. Kim Byung-hyun, 45, earned a combined $5.5 million and Kang Jung-ho, 37, earned $8.25 million.

Alex Rodriguez (49-USA) is the all-time top earner among all MLB players. He earned $455.15 million in salary from 1994 to 2016. Second on the all-time list is Miguel Cabrera (41), the best slugger Venezuela has ever produced. The seventh player in history to join the “500-homer, 3000-RBI club” with 511 career home runs and 3174 RBIs, he earned $385.18 million from 2003 to last year. In third place is still-active right-hander Justin Verlander (41-Houston Astros), who has collected $350.92 million from 2005 to now.

However, the top spot on the all-time list is likely to be inherited by “baseball genius” Shohei Ohtani (30-Japan). That’s because he signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers last month, the largest in world sports history. By the end of the deal, Ohtani will have accumulated $742.26 million in annualized earnings.

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