[PyeongChang 2018] Sports court lifts life bans of 28 Russians accused of doping

The Court of Arbitration for Sport on Thursday lifted life bans on 28 of the 43 Russians accused of doping at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.In a decision that could allow some of them to compete in this month's Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, sport's top court ruled there was "insufficient" evidence that the athletes had benefited from a system of state-sponsored doping at the last Winter Games, hosted by Russia. This file photo taken on December 12, 2017 shows a man talking on the phone in fro

Olympic GamesFeb. 1, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Seoul announces measures to support foreign visitors to Olympics

Seoul Metropolitan Government on Thursday unveiled a package of support measures for visitors during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics next week, as the capital city is expected to see 2.3 million foreigners traveling there during the international event. The mascots for the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games Suhorang (R) and Bandabi. Yonhap“We expect that around 80 percent of the foreign tourists visiting South Korea for the Olympics, as well as the Games’ officials and high ranking delegates,

Olympic GamesFeb. 1, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Olympic Truce Wall to be unveiled next week

The organizing committee for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics will unveil the Olympic Truce Wall that symbolizes the games' key theme of peace next week.The unveiling ceremony of the mural will be held at the PyeongChang Olympic Village on Feb. 5.The mural was designed by Korean artist Yi Je-seok, who was inspired by Pope Francis' message on peace, namely that building bridges, not walls encourages relations among people. (Yonhap)The event will be attended by International Olympic Committee

Olympic GamesFeb. 1, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Athletes' villages in PyeongChang, Gangneung officially open

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea -- The Olympic Villages, which will accommodate 2,900 athletes during the upcoming Winter Games, officially opened Thursday.The athletes' living quarters for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics -- split between one Olympic Village in PyeongChang, 180 kilometers east of Seoul, and one in Gangneung, 230 kilometers east of the capital -- had their opening ceremonies, with hundreds of guests in attendance. The construction of the Villages was completed in December, but officials

More SportsFeb. 1, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Figure skating pairs duo headlines N. Korean delegation to PyeongChang 2018

A figure skating pairs duo headlined the list of North Korean athletes that arrived here on Thursday to start preparing for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.Ryom Tae-ok and Kim Ju-sik were among 10 athletes who landed at Yangyang International Airport via a South Korean chartered plane. They will check in to Gangneung Olympic Village in Gangneung, about 50 kilometers south of the airport. Gangneung is a sub-host city of all ice sports during PyeongChang 2018.The Ryom-Kim tandem was joined by

Olympic GamesFeb. 1, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Top organizer hoping for big Korean turnout at opening ceremony

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea -- The top organizer of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics said this week that he is hoping for a big turnout of athletes for the joint Korean march at the game's opening ceremony.The divided countries reached a landmark agreement last month to march in together at the Feb. 9 opening ceremony. PyeongChang 2018 is the first Winter Olympics in South Korea, and this will be North Korea's first appearance at an Olympic Games held south of the border after it boycotted the

More SportsFeb. 1, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Arena for women's hockey games adds locker stalls for joint Korean team

GANGNEUNG, South Korea -- The arena for women's hockey games during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics has added locker stalls to accommodate the joint Korean squad, an official for the venue said Thursday.Kwandong Hockey Centre in Gangneung, home of all ice events located just east of PyeongChang, has recently completed an expansion of its locker room and has installed 35 stalls for the unified Korean team.All other teams have the regular entry of 23 players. But in a landmark deal approved by the

More SportsFeb. 1, 2018

[Feature] Korean men’s ice hockey team ‘confident’ to take on competition at Olympics

JINCHEON, North Chungcheong Province/SEOUL -- Sounds of hockey sticks, pucks slinging into the net and skates against the ice filled the Jincheon National Training Center in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province, where Korea’s national men’s ice hockey team assembled early in the morning on Jan. 24. The team was warming up before heading off to the pre-Olympics welcoming ceremony later in the day. The women’s national ice hockey team was also scheduled to join. In contrast to controversy surround

Olympic GamesJan. 31, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] KT’s 5G network ready to go at PyeongChang Olympics

GANGNEUNG, Gangwon Province -- South Korea’s KT, an official telecommunications partner for the PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games, announced Wednesday that its ultra-fast 5G network is fully deployed and ready for use during the international sporting event.　　Over the past two years, KT has been working with its partners Intel and Samsung Electronics to deploy the world’s first large-scale 5G trial network at the PyeongChang Olympics, with aims to offer the public an early glimpse of the new tech

TechnologyJan. 31, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Village mayors ready to welcome Olympians at PyeongChang

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea -- The chiefs of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics athletes' villages said Wednesday they are ready to welcome participants in the quadrennial multi-sports event and help them stay comfortable.Ryu Seung-min, a former Olympic gold medalist in table tennis, is at the helm of the main Olympic Village at PyeongChang, where athletes in snow events like alpine skiing will reside, and Kim Ki-hoon, a former short track speed skater, is in charge of the Gangneung Olympic Village, h

More SportsJan. 31, 2018

IOC President Bach defends decision to ban Russian athletes

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach on Tuesday defended a decision to ban Russian athletes from the 2018 Winter Olympics.The IOC has suspended the Russian Olympic Committee over rampant doping and is only allowing clean athletes to compete as neutrals, each formally called an "Olympic Athlete from Russia." Last weekend, the IOC cleared 169 athletes for the Feb. 9-25 PyeongChang Winter Games.Among those not cleared is Seoul-born short track speed skater Victor An, who has claime

Olympic GamesJan. 30, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Seoul virtually co-hosting venue of Olympics: Mayor Park

Seoul is virtually a co-hosting venue of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics slated for next month as all athletes, delegates, officials and tourists from around the world will “stay or pass through” the capital city during the games, the city’s Mayor Park Won-soon said during a press conference for the Seoul Foreign Correspondents’ Club on Tuesday.“Seoul designated 52 days from Jan. 26 as special welcoming days and released five special support packages during the period (for foreign visitors)

Olympic GamesJan. 30, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] PyeongChang athletes village to open this week

With the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games just 10 days away, its two athletes' villages will open later this week for thousands of participants attending the multi-sports event, the games' organizing committee said Tuesday.The official opening ceremonies will be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday -- one at PyeongChang and one at Gangneung -- according to the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. (Yonhap)There are two villages for the 2018 Winter Games. The Py

Olympic GamesJan. 30, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Korean-American athletes in spotlight

While nearly 3,000 athletes from 95 nations are scheduled to visit South Korea for the upcoming PyeongChang Winter Olympics, this year has a personal significance for some athletes from the US. For Chloe Kim, a 17-year-old snowboarder from Torrance, California, South Korea is where her parents are from. Many of her relatives, including her grandmother, still live in South Korea. Kim, who became the first person under the age of 16 to win three gold medals at an X Games back in 2016, is making he

Olympic GamesJan. 30, 2018

[Newsmaker] Scandal sheds light on skating union's mistreatment

South Korea’s speed skater Noh Seon-yeong had one of the most dramatic weeks of her life. The 28-year-old, who had initially been selected to represent South Korea in the women’s team at the PyeongChang Olympics, was only told last week that an administrative error by the Korea Skating Union had cost her her spot on the team.Heartbroken, she openly spoke out against the KSU through her social media account, saying she “no longer was proud” to represent her country. On Friday, however, two Russia

Olympic GamesJan. 30, 2018

[Graphic News] PyeongChang to host largest Winter Olympics in history

　According to the PyeongChang Organizing Committee, 2,925 athletes from 92 countries have registered to compete in the Olympics, marking the biggest number of athletes in history. 　The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics had been the largest with 2,858 athletes from 88 nations.　South Korea will have a record 144 athletes competing in all 15 sports at the games. 　The US has the largest team for the games, with 242 athletes, followed by Canada with 226.　Meanwhile, North Korea will have 22 athletes in five

Olympic GamesJan. 30, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Alibaba out to improve Olympic operations with cloud, starting with PyeongChang

Alibaba Group Holdings, the official cloud services and e-commerce partner for the Olympics until 2028, said Tuesday that it wants to leverage its cloud-based technologies to make Olympic operations more efficient and cost effective.　And its vision will start with next month’s Winter Games in PyeongChang, which Alibaba believes will become a critical learning ground for figuring out what it can do to improve its cloud technologies so that it can do a better job at the next Olympics.“In PyeongCha

TechnologyJan. 30, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Joint Korean women's hockey team to move to athletes' village ahead of schedule

The joint Korean women's ice hockey team will move into athletes' residences for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics ahead of schedule, the sport's South Korean governing body said Tuesday.The unified team, coached by South Korea bench boss Sarah Murray, is set to take on Sweden in its only pre-Olympics tuneup match at 6 p.m. Sunday in Incheon, just west of Seoul. The 35 players had initially been scheduled to enter Gangneung Olympic Village, one of two athletes' living quarters for the Olympics, th

Olympic GamesJan. 30, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] IOC President Bach arrives in Korea to inspect PyeongChang

INCHEON, South Korea -- International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach arrived in South Korea on Tuesday to inspect preparations for next month's PyeongChang Winter Olympics."It's a great pleasure to finally arrive in Korea. I look forward to the Winter Olympic Games with great anticipation," Bach told reporters upon arriving at Incheon International Airport. He will later take the new KTX high-speed train to Jinbu Station, located in PyeongChang.Bach said he plans to meet with the staff

More SportsJan. 30, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Korean robots to add high-tech spin to Olympic Winter Games

Athletes, staff and spectators making their way to PyeongChang this winter will have plenty to see in between the Olympic Games, with the latest robots from South Korea roaming the grounds to offer guidance, travel support and entertainment.　　Olympic observers got their first taste of the technology that will be on show at the Winter Games with the torch relay, which featured the world’s first sight of two robots carrying the iconic flame in Daejeon.　Thousands of spectators gathered in the city

TechnologyJan. 30, 2018