Shin-Soo Choo

Shin-Soo Choo (Hangul: 추신수; Hanja: 秋信守; born July 13, 1982) is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Cleveland Indians.

Choo was selected as the Most Valuable Player and Best Pitcher of the 2000 World Junior Baseball Championship as South Korea won the event. Choo signed a $1.35M contract with the Mariners after the championship and converted to the outfield

Choo was on the 2009 World Baseball Classic Korean roster. Cleveland allowed Choo to play under the condition that he play only one game or less as an outfielder in the first round, and only in two non-consecutive games of the second round.


He helped Korea win 10-2 against Venezuela with a three-run home run against Carlos Silva in the first inning.

He also contributed a solo home run in the fifth inning at the finals against Hisashi Iwakuma of Japan, where Korea lost to Japan 3-5.


Cleveland lifted this restriction from the semifinals on, and Choo started as an outfielder in the semifinal match against Venezuela.

He and his wife currently reside just outside Phoenix, Arizona.

South Korea has mandatory military service for men and Choo is required to serve about 2 years before he turns 30 in 2012. The government gives de-facto waivers to athletes by requiring them only to serve 4-week long basic military training under limited circumstances, which Choo missed several times. In addition, the South Korean government does not allow an individual to give up citizenship to avoid military service.

In 2006, he was not selected for the South Korean team for 2006 World Baseball Classic in which South Korea placed third. The government unexpectedly decided to give military waivers to the members but it was one-time-only. The decision was reaffirmed after the 2009 World Baseball Classic in which Choo competed and South Korea took second place.

In the 2008 Beijing Olympics he was certain to make it to the national team but could not as the Commissioner's office did not allow players on the 25-man roster to play in the Olympics. The team also was aware of his special circumstances but kept him on the 25-man roster as he was out of minor league options. Olympic medalists are given military waivers in South Korea, and he could have received a waiver had he competed as the South Korean team won a gold medal. Baseball has been voted out of the 2012 London Olympic games.

However, the problem was resolved when Choo and the South Korean team won the gold medal of the Asian Games on November 19, 2010. By law, this will exempt him from conscription by the South Korean army.