20-year-old Korean star on the way By Gordon Edes, Globe Staff, 11/05/97 rom the same people who brought you Robinson Checo, Dominican mystery man, comes pitcher Kim Sun Woo, the Korean surprise who has reached terms on a $1 million contract with the Red Sox and may be in Boston as soon as Friday for the official signing. As of last night, the Red Sox were still awaiting word on whether Kim had been granted a visa to come to the United States. That's expected to be a mere formality for the 20-year-old righthanded pitcher, a member of the Korean Olympic team in 1996 and a student at Korea University. Ray Poitevint, the Red Sox' director of international operations who made five trips to Korea this year to close the deal, says Kim is like a cross between Dennis Martinez and Don Sutton. Those pitchers won 565 games between them, or 564 more than Checo, last season's import via Japan, won for the Red Sox last season. But the Red Sox retain high hopes for Checo, and officials from other clubs spoke highly of Kim, who in 1995 pitched in Fenway Park during the world junior championships. ''He's had a love affair with Boston ever since,'' Poitevint said. ''He scooped some dirt up from the mound at Fenway in his cap and still has it.'' Poitevint says Kim does not throw as hard as countryman Chan Ho Park, the power pitcher who had a breakthrough season with the Dodgers in 1997, going 14-8 and striking out 166 batters in 192 innings. ''The guy has a little better arm than Dennis did when I signed him in Nicaragua,'' Poitevint said, ''but it's his other qualities - his intelligence, his breaking ball, his changeup, his control - that are such a plus.'' While Poitevint said he has been tracking Kim since the 11th grade (another club has reports on him going back to when he was 15), he said he thought the Red Sox would have to wait until 1999 before Kim would be able to pitch for them. According to Poitevint, Kim made a three-year commitment to pitch for Korea University and was given what Poitevint called a bonus to do so. But with the assistance of Jin Won Park, a native Korean who is scouting for the Red Sox, Poitevint worked on cultivating a relationship both with the player and the university. ''I couldn't believe it when the father called one night and said there was a possibility he could get out of the university,'' Poitevint said. A similar wave of disbelief swept through other big league clubs when the Dodgers waded through red tape impenetrable to everyone else in order to sign Park. Dodgers owner Peter O'Malley had spent years developing ties with and promoting baseball in the Far East, but whispers persist that the Dodgers took extraordinary measures to be allowed to sign Park. Poitevint said compensation is still being negotiated with the university for Kim's release, and the Red Sox are attempting to become the first big league club to establish a working agreement with a university in Korea. The Red Sox would help Korea University through instructional programs, Poitevint said, and may invite the university team to train at their Fort Myers, Fla., facility. Still unresolved is the question of compulsory military service. Every Korean male by the age of 27 must serve two years, an issue also facing the Dodgers with Park. But Poitevint said Kim will be allowed to return to Korea next summer to pitch for the national team in an international tournament. ''I've been told that if the team finishes first, second, or third, players on that team will be exempt from the military,'' Poitevint said. Kim is about 6 feet 2 inches and 185 pounds, according to Poitevint. His skills are equal to those of a ''high first-round draft choice'' in this country. The plan is for Kim to report early to minor league camp next spring and eventually make an appearance in big league camp. ''We want to soft-pedal him,'' said Poitevint. ''But I could see him pitching Triple A ball next season.'' That's assuming, of course, he's allowed to step on a plane bound for the US. The Orient Express awaits. This story ran on page D06 of the Boston Globe on 11/05/97. � Copyright 1997 Globe Newspaper Company.