Two Seoul clubs -- the Nexen Heroes and the LG Twins -- will renew their Korea Baseball Organization rivalry when they meet in the first round playoff series starting Thursday.The Heroes finished third in the regular season and will have the home field advantage in the best-of-five set. Game 1 is set for 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Gocheok Sky Dome.The Twins finished fourth in the standings and dispatched the fifth-seed Kia Tigers in the wild-card game.This is their first meeting in the playoffs since

BaseballOct. 12, 2016

South Korea traveled to Tehran to face Iran in an Asian World Cup qualifying match Tuesday, with an eye on ending a winless drought that has last for more than four decades.South Korea instead suffered a 1-0 loss at Azadi Stadium, dropping to two draws and five defeats in the Iranian capital. And they looked pretty bad doing so.South Korea coach Uli Stielike also talked tough on the eve of the contest, saying the goal was to make new history.The message clearly didn't get through to his players,

SoccerOct. 12, 2016

A retirement ceremony has been scheduled for the South Korean golf legend Pak Se-ri during an LPGA Tour event on her native soil next week, organizers said Friday.Pak, a World Golf Hall of Famer, will play her final competitive tournament at the LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship starting next Thursday at Sky 72 Golf & Resort's Ocean Course, adjacent to Incheon International Airport. And the event's local organizers said a ceremony commemorating Pak's accomplishments will take place by the 18th gre

GolfOct. 7, 2016

Texas Rangers' outfielder Choo Shin-soo picked up an RBI in three at-bats as his club was routed by the Toronto Blue Jays 10-1 in Game 1 of the American League Division Series.Choo drove in the Rangers' only run with a groundout in the top of the ninth, while striking out twice in his first two at-bats at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas, on Thursday (local time). The Jays wielded hot bats to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series.Batting ninth and playing right field, Choo struck out loo

BaseballOct. 7, 2016

Suspended defensive back Hong Jeong-ho has been replaced on the national men's football team.The Korea Football Association said Kim Min-hyeok of Japanese club Sagan Tosu will take Hong's spot on the 23-man roster in the Asian qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.Hong was sent off on two yellow cards in South Korea's 3-2 win over Qatar Thursday, and earned an automatic suspension for the next match against Iran in Tehran.The KFA instead went with Kim, who hasn't played for the senior national

SoccerOct. 7, 2016

The LG Twins will host South Korean baseball's wild card game next week, after locking down the fourth spot in the Korea Baseball Organization Thursday.The Seoul-based Twins defeated the Lotte Giants 4-1 on the road in Busan to improve to 71-70-2 (wins-losses-ties). They hold a 1.5-game lead over the Kia Tigers, who lost to the Samsung Lions 4-3 and fell to 70-72-1. Both the Twins and the Tigers have one regular season game remaining.They will clash in the wild card game at 6:30 p.m. Monday at J

BaseballOct. 7, 2016

In-form Tottenham attacker Son Heung-min continued to dazzle on Thursday, scoring the winner against Qatar in South Korea's 3-2 victory in the World Cup qualifier.Son entered the contest at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, 40 kilometers south of Seoul, as one of the hottest players anywhere. He has netted five goals in six matches for the Spurs in Premier League and Champions League action.The 24-year-old saved the country from the brink of an embarrassing draw against the underdogs. After capt

SoccerOct. 7, 2016

South Korea edged Qatar 3-2 in their World Cup qualifying campaign on Thursday.Tottenham Hotspur attacker Son Heung-min scored the winner at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, some 46 kilometers south of Seoul, leading South Korea to their second victory in the final Asian qualifying round for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.Both South Korea and Qatar are in Group A along with Iran, Uzbekistan, Syria and China in the final round. South Korea had a 3-2 win against China and played to a scoreless draw with

SoccerOct. 7, 2016

Two South Koreans will see postseason action in Major League Baseball this month.The regular season wrapped up across the United States Sunday (local time) with 15 games.Choo Shin-soo of the Texas Rangers will be in the postseason for the second straight year. The Rangers have long clinched the American League West division crown and have also secured a home field advantage throughout the postseason with the best record in the AL at 95-67. They lost to the Tampa Bay Rays 6-4 Sunday.Choo has had

BaseballOct. 3, 2016

In their inaugural talks that wrapped up here Friday, the sports ministers of South Korea, China and Japan laid the groundwork for successful hosting of upcoming Olympic Games in the region.After their two-day meeting in PyeongChang, host of the 2018 Winter Olympics located 180 kilometers east of Seoul, the three ministers -- Cho Yoon-sun of South Korea, Liu Peng of China and Hirokazu Matsuno of Japan -- produced the "PyeongChang Declaration."It detailed the three countries' efforts to expand th

Olympic GamesSept. 23, 2016

The Doosan Bears clinched their first South Korean baseball pennant in 21 years with a 9-2 victory over the KT Wiz on Thursday.At 90-46-1 (wins-losses-ties), the Bears secured first place in the Korea Baseball Organization with seven games remaining. The second-place NC Dinos beat the Hanwha Eagles 7-2 on Thursday to sit 11.5 games behind at 74-53-3, but they will not catch the Bears even if they win their remaining 14 games.The Bears won the 2015 Korean Series after finishing third in the regul

BaseballSept. 23, 2016

Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, hailed a "time of Asia" in the Olympic Movement on Thursday as South Korea opened the inaugural meeting of sports ministers among Northeast Asian neighbors.PyeongChang, host of the 2018 Winter Olympics located some 180 kilometers east of Seoul, is the host of the first meeting of sports ministers from South Korea, China and Japan. It was set up to promote sports cooperation among the three nations, which will take turns in hosting th

Olympic GamesSept. 23, 2016

South Korea has finished 20th in the gold medal tally at the Rio de Janeiro Paralympic Games. At the quadrennial event for athletes with disabilities, which came to an end in Brazil on Sunday (local time), South Korean Paralympians won a total of 35 medals -- seven gold, 11 silver and 17 bronze. A total of 139 athletes and officials from South Korea participated in 11 sports at the 2016 Summer Paralympics, which ran from Sept. 7-18, with a goal of winning 11 gold medals and finishing inside the

Olympic GamesSept. 19, 2016

South Korean Chun In-gee captured the final LPGA major of the season in record-breaking fashion on Sunday in France.Chun, world No. 7, enjoyed a wire-to-wire victory at the Evian Championship at Evian Resorts Golf Club, shooting 21-under for the four rounds to set the 72-hole scoring record at any golf major, men's or women's. After carding a two-under 69 Sunday with three birdies and a bogey, Chun defeated two fellow Koreans, Park Sung-hyun and Ryu So-yeon, by four strokes, and took home a $487

GolfSept. 19, 2016

South Korean golfer Kim In-kyung has captured a Ladies European Tour event in Germany.Kim won the ISPS Handa Ladies European Masters at Golf Club Hubbelrath in Dusseldorf, Germany, on Sunday (local time), at 17-under 271. After shooting a bogey-free round of 63 in the final round, Kim defeated Belen Mozo of Spain by five strokes and cashed in 75,000 euros ($84,270).Kim, a three-time winner on the U.S. LPGA Tour, now also has three wins on the LTE. She also won the ISPS Handa Ladies European Mast

GolfSept. 12, 2016