Volleyball star Kim Yeon-koung is considering returning to the Korean league.
Kim's agent on Tuesday said she recently asked the Heungkuk Life Pink Spiders if she could return to the team this season.
Kim joined the Pink Spiders in 2005 and was put on the "voluntary retired list" in 2009 when she left the team to play in foreign leagues.
She played for JT Marvelous in Japan from 2009 to 2011, Fenerbahçe in Turkey from 2011 to 2017, Shanghai Guohua Life in China from 2017 to 2018 and another Turkish club, Eczacıbaşı VitrA, from 2018 to 2020.
Kim is supposed to return to the Pink Spiders if she wants to play in the Korean league as she was under contract with the team when she left the country.
The biggest obstacle to her return is the salary cap, which has been set at W2.3 billion per team in the women's volleyball league for this season (US$1=W1,223).
If she returns to the Pink Spiders, she is likely to receive the team's highest salary of W700 million a year. But then, the team might be unable to afford salaries for other players.
The Korean Volleyball Federation said it will not revise its rules to accommodate individual players, including Kim.
Chinese teams have also expressed interest in her next move. Chinese online news outlet Sohu.com said on Tuesday that Kim, who received 1.2 million euros from Fenerbahçe and 1.3 euros from Eczacıbaşı VitrA, is one of the best volleyball players in the world.
It also said Beijing BAIC Motor made a better offer, but Kim said she has something more important than salary in mind.
Her last remaining goal is to win a medal at the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo. If she joins the national team while playing in Europe, she would be at high risk of injury as the long-distance travel would affect physical conditions and strength.
Kim may want to choose a league that can provide stability to achieve her Olympic goal.
