Why Suwon Native Karina Threw Her First Pitch for the Lotte Giants?

On the 10th, sports journalists discussed this in a YouTube video on ‘Moneball TV.’ Karina came up during the conversation.

Karina drew a lot of attention when she threw the first pitch at the third game between the Lotte Giants and SSG Landers in the ‘2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League’ held at Busan Sajik Baseball Stadium on the 9th.

However, curiosity arose as to why Karina, who is originally from Suwon, threw the first pitch for the Lotte Giants in Busan instead of the KT Wiz.

Sports Kyunghyang journalist Kim Hajin said, “I know the behind-the-scenes story of her invitation. Normally, celebrities don’t like to travel to regional games because it takes up half a day and there’s no financial gain. But when Lotte Liquor signed a beer commercial contract with Karina for ‘Crush,’ they included the first pitch as an option.”

He continued, “Since Karina is ‘Suwon’s daughter,’ KT Wiz had contacted her, and SM (Karina’s agency) was aware. So, as soon as the contract with Lotte was finalized, SM apologized to KT Wiz, saying there was nothing they could do because of the contract.”

Kim added, “The payment for the Crush advertisement was also enormous, so she had no choice but to go and throw the first pitch.”

When Munhwa Ilbo journalist Jung Seyoung asked, “By enormous, do you mean in the tens of billions?” Kim responded, “A bit less than that.”

On the 9th, Karina took the mound wearing a light blue uniform. She expressed her feelings by saying, “I am honored to be able to throw the first pitch for the first time in my life.”

Karina added, “I will throw the ball with all my heart to support the Lotte Giants. Please continue to show a lot of love for our group, aespa.”

Karina received cheers from the audience by successfully throwing a striking pitch.