HANWHA LIFEPLUS INTERNATIONAL CROWN

October 22, 2025

Haeran Ryu

Hyo Joo Kim

Hye Jin Choi

Jin Young Ko

New Korea Country Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Hello, everyone. My name is Christina Lance. I am with the communications team at the LPGA Tour and we are thrilled to invite you here for our initial press conference for the 2025 Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown.

I will also introduce the most important woman in the room, Jenny Lee, our translator.

We will start with one question for each of our players which Jenny will then translate into English, and then we will open it up to questions from the room.

First question is for Hyo Joo. I know you are incredibly popular here in Korea. How much of an honor is it for you to play here in your country on home soil and represent Korea?

HYO JOO KIM: Yes, there's so many people that are supporting me and showing their love for me, so it is a great honor and a pleasure. Because we're playing here in Korea, we have so many fans coming out, and I'm sure that that will help boost morale and support our team.

Of course we do have home advantage here, and I think the overall atmosphere and chemistry compared to two years ago is really great, so I hope that we can materialize this on the course and also get some really great results.

THE MODERATOR: Haeran, you are our 2023 LPGA Rookie of the Year. You are playing in your first Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown. What has the experience been like for you so far?

HAERAN RYU: This is actually my third year on the LPGA Tour, and my experience has been really great. Of course, thanks to all of my experiences, I've been able to receive the Rookie of the Year, as well, and everything that has happened on the LPGA Tour thus far has led me to this day where I am joined by these wonderful players to play on the Korean team at the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown. I'm sure this week will be a very memorable experience for sure.

THE MODERATOR: Jin Young, you have a lot of experience on the LPGA Tour. This is your second International Crown. What advice did you give to Haeran as she starts preparing for her first International Crown?

JIN YOUNG KO: Well, the first thing I told Haeran was to get more sleep. I think compared to two years ago when we were in San Francisco, Hyo Joo and Haeran were with me, but then compared to San Francisco we have a really great chemistry and a really great team atmosphere.

I thin one of those reasons is because we are here in Korea. It's easy for us to move around, find restaurants, try different foods, and we're able to experience diverse cultures here in Korea.

Haeran and Hye-Jin, they got up very early and started their day early, but for Hyo Joo, we are older so we need a little bit more sleep. So I told Haeran and Hye-Jin they are doing a wonderful job so just play your game and I'll support you.

So I didn't have any advice I could give Haeran. I think for me I just need to go out there tomorrow and play my part.

THE MODERATOR: Hye-Jin, you've had some practice rounds. What are your thoughts on this golf course, and what will it bring for fans this week?

HYE JIN CHOI: Yes, I did play in the pro-am yesterday, and then I was in Korea, so I actually came to check out this course and had a practice round. I think compared to then and today, it's very different, especially like yesterday the weather was very cold, so even yesterday felt very different.

I think the greens, the speed is quite fast, so very critical to this week, I think, will be how we play our short games. If you look at the courses and the course layout here in Korea, traditionally the back side of the green is higher compared to the front side of the green, so we have to really attack these greens here on the course.

I think the short game, the putting will be very important this week.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much. Good luck.