Having missed the playoffs the past two seasons in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), the SK Wyverns on Tuesday appointed Kim Hong-hee, their ex-head of player development, as new manager.

The Incheon-based club announced that they named Kim to succeed Lee Man-soo, who had taken over the Wyverns in the middle of the 2011 season, on the bench. Kim has signed for two years for 300 million won (US$284,700) per season, along with 300 million won in signing bonus.

"We felt we needed to undergo major changes," the team said in a statement. "And we felt Kim was the right person who could lead the club to play the kind of systematic baseball that we want, and who could give the team a new identity."

The Wyverns added that they also valued Kim's knowledge of the franchise, since he has spent the past three years as their minor league manager and then head of player development, 

Kim, 59, is a former KBO All-Star who has previously managed the Lotte Giants and the Samsung Lions.

"It's a great honor to take over the team but at the same time, I feel a burden of responsibility to build a team that will contend for a long time," the new manager said through the team. "I am going to try to add to what my predecessors have built for this ball club." (Yonhap)