[PyeongChang 2018] Quiet short track star looking to make noise

Off the ice, Korean short track speed skating star Choi Min-jeong is as quiet and soft-spoken as they come. But when all is said and done at next month's PyeongChang Winter Olympics, she will likely have made plenty of noise on the ice.Still just 19, Choi is already one of the world's most complete short trackers. The two-time world overall champion dominated the 2017-2018 International Skating Union World Cup season to qualify for her first Winter Games with ease.Choi ranked first overall in th

More SportsJan. 8, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Teen figure skating phenom rallies to qualify for PyeongChang Olympics

South Korean teen figure skating phenom Cha Jun-hwan staged an impressive rally to qualify for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics on Sunday. Cha, 16, won the men's singles at the Korea Figure Skating Championships, which doubled as the third and final leg of the Olympic trials, at Mokdong Ice Rink in Seoul, with the overall score of 252.65 points. He scored 168.60 points in free skate, adding to 84.05 points from Saturday's short program.With that, Cha won the qualification stage with 684.23 p

Olympic GamesJan. 7, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Two teen figure skaters qualify for PyeongChang Olympics in ladies' singles

A pair of teenage figure skaters qualified for the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics in the ladies' singles Sunday.Choi Da-bin, 17, and Kim Ha-nul, 15, will represent the host country next month in one of the Winter Games' marquee events, after finishing one-two in the Olympic trials that wrapped up at Mokdong Ice Rink in Seoul on Sunday.At the Korea Figure Skating Championships, the third and final leg of qualifying events, Choi finished with 190.12 points, for a total of 540.28. Kim scored 176.92 poin

Olympic GamesJan. 7, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Latest win brightens Olympic hopes for skeleton's Yun Sung-bin

With his fourth international victory in six starts this season, Olympic medal hopes have brightened for South Korean skeleton star Yun Sung-bin.Yun won the men's skeleton title at the sixth leg of the 2017-2018 International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation (IBSF) World Cup season on Friday (local time) in Altenberg, Germany.Firmly entrenched at the top of the World Cup standings, Yun has four wins and two runner-up finishes in six starts.With a combined time of 1:54.28 after two runs, Yun defea

Olympic GamesJan. 6, 2018

S. Korea nat’l football coach says Tottenham manager gave hint on Son Heung-min use

South Korea football coach Shin Tae-yong said Friday that Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino gave a hint on the use of their ace attacker Son Heung-min. Shin returned home from his two-week trip in Europe where he inspected national players in preparation for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He first checked Troyes AC striker Suk Hyun-jun in France and later moved to Britain to see players like Son, Ki Sung-yueng of Swansea City and Lee Chung-yong of Crystal Palace.  (Yonhap)Shin said he met

SoccerJan. 5, 2018

Dodgers’ Ryu Hyun-jin ties knot with sports announcer

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin tied the knot with local sports announcer Bae Ji-hyun Friday.The star athlete and the popular TV personality exchanged vows in a private ceremony at Shilla Hotel in Seoul. Kim In-sik, Ryu’s former manager in South Korea with the Hanwha Eagles, was the officiant and Yoo Jae-suk, one of South Korea’s biggest celebrities, served as the master of ceremonies. (Yonhap)Their wedding guests included Choo Shin-soo of the Texas Rangers and former big leaguers Kim H

BaseballJan. 5, 2018

N. Korean defector boxer eyes Tokyo 2020 participation before retirement

From the day she first put on boxing gloves in North Korea, Choi Hyun-mi had one ultimate goal: competing at the Olympic Games. Now setting her sights on the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics under the South Korean flag, Choi, current World Boxing Association women's super featherweight champion, said she is determined to fulfill her dream before hanging up her gloves."I will retire in 2020 after I compete at the Olympics," Choi said in an interview with Yonhap News Agency on Thursday. "I don't care if

More SportsJan. 5, 2018

Son Heung-min scores 1st goal of 2018, reaches double figures for season

Tottenham Hotspur's South Korean star Son Heung-min has gotten on the board in 2018.Son scored his first goal of the new year against West Ham on Thursday (local time) at Wembley Stadium in London, and his 84th-minute marker helped the Spurs salvage a 1-1 draw.Son now has seven goals in the English Premier League for the season and 10 goals in all competitions. He has reached double figures in goals for the second consecutive season, after netting 21 goals -- 14 in the Premier League, six at the

SoccerJan. 5, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Veteran speed skater looking to add new chapter to growing legacy

About two months shy of his 30th birthday, South Korean speed skater Lee Seung-hoon understands he isn't the same athlete that he was a few years back.But if the way his illustrious career has played out is any indication, Lee will likely find ways to deliver the goods when it counts the most at next month's PyeongChang Winter Olympics. A medal there would add another chapter to his growing legacy as one of the country's finest winter sports athletes ever.A former short track speed skater, Lee c

More SportsJan. 5, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] N. Korea may send 2 skiers to PyeongChang Paralympics: official

North Korea may send a team of two skiers to the PyeongChang Winter Paralympic Games next month if it decides to participate in the multi-winter sport event in South Korea, an official of a US civic group which supports North Korean athletes said Thursday. Shin Young-soon, head of the Kinsler Foundation, said Pyongyang may send two para nordic skiers -- Ma Yoo-cheol and Kim Jung-hyun -- to the Winter Paralympics if the communist state decides to compete. "Two athletes last month trained for abou

More SportsJan. 4, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Olympic figure skating qualifiers down to wire with three spots at stake

The national Olympic figure skating qualifying is going down to the wire, with three spots in the men's and women's singles at stake.The Korea Figure Skating Championships, also the third and the final leg of the qualification for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, will take place from Friday to Sunday at Mokdong Ice Rink in Seoul.The combined scores after the three qualifying events will determine who gets to represent the host nation at PyeongChang. South Korea will send one male skater and

More SportsJan. 4, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Korean slider eyes surprising finish in women's skeleton

When South Koreans talk about skeleton, a sport in which athletes slide head-first down an icy track, most of them would probably think about Yun Sung-bin, who is currently No. 1 in the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation men's world rankings. While Yun will be obviously in the spotlight next month at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Jeong Sophia believes she can also earn fans' attention in the women's skeleton. "I know people are interested in the men's skeleton because there's

More SportsJan. 4, 2018

Korea men's football team to train in Turkey for 2018 World Cup prep

South Korea will set up their winter training camp in Turkey later this month to prepare for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the national football governing body said Wednesday.The Korea Football Association said the men's national football team will train in Antalya, Turkey, from Jan. 22 to Feb. 4. "We originally considered ... Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates as our winter training destination, but had to change it, since we couldn't find friendly match opponents there," an official from the KFA

SoccerJan. 3, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Organizers in final stage of preparations to welcome guests

With just over a month until the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, organizers in Gangwon Province are in the final stage of preparations for the event. Venues for the PyeongChang Olympics are located across three cities in the province -- PyeongChang, Gangneung and Jeongseon.With heavy snow fall and freezing temperatures expected throughout the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, the province’s interagency task force is prepared for snow-removal operations on roads in cooperation with local city and pr

Olympic GamesJan. 3, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] PyeongChang reaffirms readiness to host NK at Winter Olympics

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea -- The 2018 Winter Games host city of PyeongChang on Wednesday reaffirmed its readiness to host North Korea at the competition held south of the border, with Pyongyang expressing interest in participation.Lee Hee-beom, head of the 2018 Olympic organizing committee, said PyeongChang had been "preparing for a long time" for the possibility that North Korea would take part in the quadrennial event."We're making preparations in case North Korea sends its athletes, cheering s

More SportsJan. 3, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Inter-Korean sports exchange group chief says North likely to send cheering squad to PyeongChang

The chief of a Seoul-based inter-Korean sports exchange promotion group said Wednesday he believes Pyongyang will send athletes and a cheering squad to the Winter Olympics south of the border next month.Kim Kyung-sung, who leads the South-North Korea Inter-Korean Sports Association, made the claim based on his attendance at meeting with North Korean officials in China last month."I believe there is a big possibility that the North will come to South Korea with its cheerleading group," Kim said t

More SportsJan. 3, 2018

Pro baseball's new commissioner envisions league as successful industry

Chung Un-chan, former South Korean prime minister inaugurated as head of professional baseball on Wednesday, has previously been an economics scholar, with Ph.D. in economics at Princeton University.And it's perhaps the academic in him that envisions the 10 clubs in the Korea Baseball Organization developing into successful business entities.Throughout his inauguration ceremony, Chung stressed the need to turn individual clubs into profitable business organizations, so that professional baseball

BaseballJan. 3, 2018

Ex-PM Chung Un-chan formerly unveiled as baseball's new commissioner

Former Prime Minister Chung Un-chan was formerly unveiled as the new head of South Korean professional baseball Wednesday.The Korea Baseball Organization held an inauguration ceremony for its new commissioner in Seoul, as Chung replaces Koo Bon-neung, a corporate executive who had been the commissioner since 2011. Chung's term is three years.Chung, 70, was nominated by the KBO's board of directors -- made up of the 10 club presidents, Koo and KBO's Secretary-General Yang Hae-yong -- on Nov. 29 l

BaseballJan. 3, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] IOC 'welcomes' Koreas' interest in talks on North's participation in PyeongChang 2018

The International Olympic Committee on Wednesday welcomed the interest taken by the two Koreas in having talks on the North's participation in the upcoming Winter Games south of the border.In a statement emailed to Yonhap News Agency on Wednesday, IOC spokesman Mark Adams said, "The IOC welcomes the mutual intentions of the governments of the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to start direct talks about the participation of athletes from DPRK in the Olympic Winter G

More SportsJan. 3, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Sports minister says PyeongChang 2018 will lead to peace, prosperity on Korean Peninsula

South Korean Sports Minister Do Jong-hwan said Tuesday the upcoming Winter Olympics in the country will usher in an era of peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula.In his New Year's address to Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism employees, Do also welcomed North Korea's show of interest in participating in the Feb. 9-25 PyeongChang Winter Games. South Korea's Sports Minister Do Jong-hwan (Yonhap)On New Year's Day, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said he would consider sending a delegatio

Olympic GamesJan. 2, 2018