National Volleyball Player Choi Hong-seok Dies at 35 What kind of player was it
The men’s OK Financial Group, Woori Card and KEPCO clubs, where Choi was part of, expressed their condolences on the news of Choi’s death through their official channels on Wednesday. The cause of death is unknown.
Choi Hong-seok, who was born in 1988, was so sought after that he was selected as the first overall pick in the 2011-2012 season men’s volleyball rookie draft. He has been expected to be a player who will carry the future of Korean volleyball as an outside player to the extent that he has already been selected for the national team since his playing days in Gyeonggi Province.
As soon as he made his debut with Seoul Dream 6 in November 2011, he achieved his first triple crown as a rookie. Naturally, Choi Hong-seok won the Rookie of the Year award after the season. However, his team Dream 6 became a KOVO management team as its parent company gave up its operation, delaying the growth of its players, and Choi Hong-seok also suffered from frequent injuries and failed to receive proper treatment.
However, he was selected as the MVP in the 2015 KOVO Cup, showing that he still has growth potential. He played as a franchise star of Woori Card for eight seasons, but moved to Suwon KEPCO in November 2018 in a one-on-one trade with Noh Jae-wook.
The team overcame a major crisis in 2019. After being diagnosed with thyroid cancer, Choi returned to the court after undergoing surgery. After failing to continue his performance as he did in the early days as a player, Choi moved to Ansan OK Savings Bank Rush & Cash through a trade in November 2019. In this regard, Choi fought hard and made his first postseason appearance in 10 years, and 10 years after winning a semi-playoff game, he was thrilled by the postseason, which prompted tears from fans’ tears.
However, since then, he has been in conflict with the club over salary issues, and eventually won the salary adjustment report, but the club refused and was released as a free contract and retired as a player.
Choi Hong-seok, who has also been a sports commentator for SBS since then, married in 2016 and has a daughter born in 2017 and a son born in 2019, so the death added to his sadness.