PyeongChang has much to learn about Olympic preparations from Rio: chief organizer

The chief organizer for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games said Thursday the main purpose of his visit to Rio de Janeiro is to learn about Olympic preparations.With Rio hosting South America's first Summer Games, Lee Hee-beom, president of the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, said he will be picking Rio's collective brain."We still have many things to learn and one of our main purposes to be in Rio is to learn from the experience in the Olympic Ga

Olympic GamesAug. 5, 2016

N. Korean IOC member says he'll attend 2018 Winter Games in S. Korea

Chang Ung, the lone North Korean member of the International Olympic Committee, said Wednesday he'll attend the 2018 Winter Games held in South Korea.Chang is in Rio de Janeiro for the 129th IOC Session. Asked by Yonhap News Agency whether he'd visit South Korean host city PyeongChang for the next Winter Games, Chang replied, "I'll go.""It will be my last Olympics as an IOC member," added Chang, who has been an IOC member since 1996 and will reach the retirement age of 80 in 2018.During the IOC

Olympic GamesAug. 4, 2016

American archers 'respect' S. Koreans, but fear no one

RIO DE JANEIRO (Yonhap) -- In South Korea's bid for an archery gold medal sweep at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, the U.S. men's team may just provide the stiffest challenge.And the three members of this year's American team say, while they reserve respect for the South Koreans, they fear no one.At the 2012 London Olympics, the Americans defeated the South Koreans in the semifinals of the men's team event, preventing their Asian rivals from winning their fourth straight gold. With two carryovers f

Olympic GamesAug. 3, 2016

S. Korea hoping to capitalize on favorable matchup in men's football opener

South Korea will try to capitalize on a favorable matchup when they open the men's football tournament at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics against Fiji on Thursday.South Korea's first Group C match will kick off at Fonte Nova Arena in Salvador, more than 1,200 kilometers north of Rio, at 8 p.m. Thursday, or 8 a.m. Friday in South Korea. It will be held on the eve of the opening ceremony of the 31st Summer Olympics.South Korea, making their eighth straight Olympic appearance, will try to win their sec

Olympic GamesAug. 2, 2016

Olympics ad boom yet to be visible

The South Korean advertisement industry is forecast to experience a slump despite the upcoming Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics, mainly due to the sluggish economy and a time difference between the two countries, industry sources said Tuesday.Sporting events, such as the Olympics and the World Cup, have typically boosted the advertisement industry, they said.Marketing companies launched various TV ads and promotions designed to enhance awareness of the games and help companies sell more products j

Olympic GamesAug. 2, 2016

Swimmer Park Tae-hwan arrives in Rio for shot at redemption

South Korean swimming star Park Tae-hwan arrived in Rio de Janeiro for the Olympics on Sunday, hoping for a shot at redemption after a tumultuous build-up to his fourth Summer Games.The 2008 Olympic gold medalist in the 400m freestyle wrapped up his two-week training camp in Orlando, Florida, and arrived at Santos Dumont Airport on Sunday afternoon here. The Rio Olympics will kick off Friday, and Park's first race, the 400m free, is set for the following day."I had great training in Florida," Pa

Olympic GamesAug. 1, 2016

N. Korea welcomed into Rio athletes' village

North Korea on Sunday entered the athletes' village for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in a modest ceremony, with only the country's officials on hand.North Korea and Uganda were welcomed into the athletes' quarters for the Aug. 5-21 Olympics. However, none of North Korea's 31 athletes, competing in nine sports, attended the occasion. Yun Song-bom, head of the North's delegation, was one of 16 officials present.One North Korean official said the athletes were still jet-lagged and their training sch

Olympic GamesAug. 1, 2016

KT Wiz sign castoff for rotation help

South Korean baseball club KT Wiz said Friday they've signed a castoff from another club for rotation help.The Wiz in the Korea Baseball Organization acquired left-hander Ryan Feierabend, who was released by the Nexen Heroes last Friday when they signed Andy Van Hekken.The Wiz will be on the hook for the duration of Feierabend's $450,000 contract.The Wiz, a second-year franchise mired in last place in the 10-club league, had released Yohan Pino last Sunday.KBO teams can each sign up to three for

BaseballJuly 29, 2016

Cardinals' Oh Seung-hwan picks up save for 3rd straight day

The St. Louis Cardinals' South Korean closer Oh Seung-hwan is on a nice little roll.The closer picked up a save for the third straight day on Thursday (local time) against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park in Miami, preserving the Cards' 5-4 victory with a scoreless ninth inning. The right-hander now has seven saves in his first big league season.With the Cardinals nursing a one-run lead, Oh took over from Kevin Siegrist in the bottom of the ninth.He retired cleanup Giancarlo Stanton on a ground

BaseballJuly 29, 2016

Korea confirms venue for World Cup qualifier vs. China

South Korea will host China at the country's largest football-only stadium in the upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifier following the visitors' excessive demand for tickets, the national football governing body said Friday.The Korea Football Association said South Korea's opener versus China in the final Asian qualifying round for the 2018 FIFA World Cup will be staged at Seoul World Cup Stadium on Sept. 1. For the final round, where 12 teams compete, South Korea are grouped with Iran, Uzbekistan, C

SoccerJuly 29, 2016

Korea readying for final Olympic football tune-up

The South Korean men's Olympic football team will face Sweden in their final tune-up for the Rio de Janeiro Summer Games as they aim to test their tactics and push players to regain their form.The match will take place at Pacaembu Stadium in Sao Paulo at 8 p.m. Friday (8 a.m. Saturday in Seoul). The men's team led by Shin Tae-yong arrived in Sao Paulo on July 19 and set up a base camp there.South Korea, the 2012 bronze medalists, are making their eighth straight Olympic appearance. They've been

Olympic GamesJuly 29, 2016

Eyeing call-up, Korean slugger Park Byung-ho belts 3 homers in minors

South Korean slugger Park Byung-ho is putting together quite a campaign to get his major league job back.Park belted three home runs in a minor league game for the Minnesota Twins' Triple-A affiliate, Rochester Red Wings, against the Pawtucket Red Sox on Thursday (local time) in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.Batting fifth as the designated hitter, Park went 3-for-5 with five RBIs. He is batting .286 with nine home runs and 16 RBIs in 21 games in Triple-A, along with an on-base plus slugging percentage

BaseballJuly 29, 2016

No rest for weary: Korean Olympians begin training in Rio

There was no rest for the weary South Korean Olympians in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday, as they began training for the upcoming Summer Games less than 24 hours after landing in the Brazilian city.With the main contingent of the delegation in Rio, there are now 79 athletes in eight sports at the athletes' village. And they tried to beat jet lag by heading straight to practice.Six national team swimmers got their first look at the Olympic Aquatics Centre, the venue for all of their races during the

Olympic GamesJuly 29, 2016

First batch of Korean Olympic delegation arrives in Rio

The first contingent of South Korea's 331-member Olympic squad arrived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Wednesday.The group, consisting of 97 athletes and 23 sports officials, departed from Incheon International Airport aboard a chartered flight. They stopped over in Dubai before landing at Galeao International Airport in Rio. The Korean Olympic Committee said it took 24 hours and 35 minutes to arrive in Brazil. The first batch of the delegation was welcomed by some 90 South Korean residents in Bra

Olympic GamesJuly 28, 2016

Korean football chief withdraws from election for FIFA body

South Korean football chief Chung Mong-gyu has pulled out of the election for a seat on FIFA's main decision-making body, the sport's national federation said Tuesday.Korea Football Association President Chung has informed the international football governing body that he will no longer pursue a seat on the FIFA Council.Chung was recently elected for his second term at the KFA, and is serving as chef de mission for South Korea at next month's Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics. The FIFA election is

SoccerJuly 26, 2016

Korean Olympic football striker diagnosed with bruised ribs

South Korean Olympic football striker Suk Hyun-jun has been diagnosed with bruised ribs following a recent practice match ahead of the Rio de Janeiro Games, the sport's national governing body said Tuesday.Suk's teammate, midfielder Lee Chan-dong, has a sprained right ankle, according to the Korea Football Association.The two players were injured during an unofficial practice match against Iraq in Sao Paulo on Sunday (local time). Suk left the game early in the match, and Lee was replaced just b

SoccerJuly 26, 2016

Rio scrambles to fix Olympic Village after Australia boycott

The official opening of the Olympic Village in Rio turned to fiasco Sunday with the discovery of blocked toilets and leaky pipes, prompting Australia to call the facility “not safe or ready.”Even Brazilian athletes who were meant to have started taking up lodgings in the brand-new complex from Sunday were being kept in hotels instead.Britain's delegation said it, too, had encountered some “maintenance difficulties,” but added it was staying in the Village as planned.Rio's Olympic organizers said

Olympic GamesJuly 25, 2016

Baseball pitcher voluntarily reports match-fixing scheme

A South Korean baseball pitcher voluntarily reported that he had engaged in match-fixing schemes in 2014, the governing body of the country's professional baseball said Sunday.Yoo Chang-sik, a left-handed pitcher for the Kia Tigers, confessed to his team on Saturday that he had deliberately walked a batter in a game on April 1, 2014, the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said. Yoo, 24, was then pitching for another KBO club, the Hanwha Eagles, and he walked the Samsung Lions No. 3 hitter, Park S

BaseballJuly 24, 2016

Olympic footballers kick off training in Brazil

The Korean men’s Olympic football team have started training in Brazil for the Rio de Janeiro Summer Games.The Korea Football Association said the Olympic team had tactical training and other exercises at a football field near Bourbon Atibaia Resort in Sao Paulo on Wednesday (local time).Fourteen players from the 18-man squad and the coaching staff arrived at their Sao Paulo base camp on Tuesday, after traveling from Korea through Frankfurt, Germany.The KFA said that among the four players who d

SoccerJuly 21, 2016