Midfielder ready to show hot club form in int'l football friendlies

SUWON -- South Korean midfielder Lee Jae-sung said Tuesday he is to ready to show his hot club form in international friendly matches later this month. Lee, who plays for Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in the K League Classic, is one of the 23 players selected by men's national football team head coach Shin Tae-yong for the friendly football matches against Colombia and Serbia. South Korea will host Colombia in Suwon, south of Seoul, on Friday and will take on Serbia four days later in Ulsan. Lee was pi

SoccerNov. 7, 2017

New No. 1 in women's golf says top spot 'honor for family'

South Korean LPGA star Park Sung-hyun, newly crowned world No. 1, said Tuesday her new ranking position is "an honor for my whole family."Park climbed a spot to No. 1 in the latest women's golf rankings announced Monday (Eastern Standard Time), dethroning fellow South Korean Ryu So-yeon. Park became the first LPGA rookie to reach No. 1."This is all too sudden for me, and it hasn't hit me yet," Park said in a statement released by her Seoul-based agency, SEMA Sports Marketing. "I think this is an

GolfNov. 7, 2017

S. Korea ready to play ‘rough’ football: coach

South Korea football coach Shin Tae-yong said Monday the national team will now try to play “rough” against opponents in upcoming friendlies this month.Shin, who took over the helm in July, has yet to collect a win with the national team even though he managed South Korea to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. While angry fans have been calling for his head, Shin said his side will play better in friendly matches at home against Colombia on Friday and Serbia four days later. Shin Tae-yong (Yonh

SoccerNov. 6, 2017

[PyeongChang 2018] PyeongChang 2018 volunteers vow to provide best service with passion

The volunteers for the PyeongChang Winter Games on Monday vowed to contribute to a successful sport event by providing the best service to visitors next year.The PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games hosted an event in Seoul to celebrate the launch of the volunteer program, with more than 1,000 gathered to show their commitment to the first winter multi-sport event in South Korea. The POCOG is recruiting some 22,400 volunteers to assist with a range of t

More SportsNov. 6, 2017

Korean pro football MVP candidates unveiled

South Korea's pro football league office unveiled three candidates for this year's top individual award Monday. The K League said Lee Jae-sung of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, Johnathan Aparecido da Silva of Suwon Samsung Bluewings and Lee Keun-ho of Gangwon FC have been named candidates for the 2017 season K League Classic MVP. The winner will be announced Nov. 20.  Lee Jae-sung led his club Jeonbuk to their fifth league title last week. The 25-year-old midfielder, in his fourth season with Jeonbuk,

SoccerNov. 6, 2017

Teen sensation captures Korean baseball's top rookie award in landslide

A teenage sensation captured South Korean baseball's top rookie award in a landslide on Monday.Nexen Heroes' outfielder Lee Jung-hoo was voted Rookie of the Year in the 2017 Korea Baseball Organization season at the annual awards ceremony in Seoul on Monday. The 19-year-old earned 503 total points out of the maximum 535, winning 98 out of 107 first-place votes.The first-place vote was worth five points, the second-place vote three points, and the third-place vote was good for one point.Lotte Gia

BaseballNov. 6, 2017

Tottenham's Son Heung-min says 'a lot to do' to catch S. Korean EPL legend

Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-min said he still has to do a lot to catch up to his compatriot Park Ji-sung even after breaking a scoring record held by the former Manchester United midfielder.Son surpassed Park to become the highest-scoring Asian player in the English Premier League history with the winner against Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday. Son, who joined Spurs in 2015 from German outfit Bayer Leverkusen, bagged his 20th career Premier League goal in the 64th m

SoccerNov. 6, 2017

Korean football body set to reshuffle executives

South Korea's football governing body is likely to conduct a personnel reshuffle next week amid growing calls for change that was sparked by the national team's poor performance, an official with the organization said Friday. The Korea Football Association is expected to make an executive reshuffle as its president Chung Mong-gyu has pledged last month, the official said. Chung previously apologized for the national team's slump and corruption scandal during a press conference, while promising t

SoccerNov. 3, 2017

[PyeongChang 2018] Two former football stars join torch relay for PyeongChang 2018

Two former football stars will serve as torchbearers for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games, a corporate sponsor of the event said Friday. Coca-Cola, one of the three presenting partners for the Olympic torch relay, said current South Korea national football team assistant coach Cha Du-ri and former national team striker Shin Young-rok will carry the sacred fire together in Busan on Saturday. Coca-Cola said Cha and Shin will run as a group with other runners. In this file photo taken on S

More SportsNov. 3, 2017

[PyeongChang 2018] S. Korea says NK yet to express intent to participate in PyeongChang Olympics

South Korea's unification ministry on Friday dismissed a report that North Korea has notified the global skating body of its intent to take part in the pairs figure skating competition in the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.North Korea's pairs figure skating tandem Ryom Tae-ok and Kim Ju-sik in September gained qualification for next year's Winter Olympics in South Korea. A local broadcaster reported last month that North Korea expressed its intent to join the competition to the International Skating

More SportsNov. 3, 2017

Korean football club Gangwon appoint new head coach

South Korean football club Gangwon FC said Friday they've promoted their chief scout to head coach to prepare for the next season. Gangwon, currently sixth in the K League Classic with just two matches remaining, said Song Kyung-sub will be their new boss. He will fill the around two-month vacancy left by Choi Yun-kyum who stepped down in August. "Song is a coach who studies hard and works with passion," Gangwon said in a statement. "Instead of looking for big-name coaches, we looked for a coach

SoccerNov. 3, 2017

Korea national football team hires 2 veteran coaches from Spain

South Korea's football governing body said Friday two veteran coaches who previously led Spain's golden days in the early 2010s will join the men's national team. The Korea Football Association said it has reached agreement with Jose Antonio Grande Cereijo and Javier Minano on Thursday, and they will be assistants to national team head coach Shin Tae-yong at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The KFA added that the two Spanish coaches will arrive in South Korea later Friday. Both coaches were part of the

SoccerNov. 3, 2017

Astros win 1st World Series crown

LOS ANGELES  -- George Springer and the Houston Astros rocketed to the top of the baseball galaxy Wednesday night, winning the first World Series championship in franchise history by romping past the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 in Game 7.　Playing for a city still recovering from Hurricane Harvey, and wearing an H Strong logo on their jerseys, the Astros brought home the prize that had eluded them since they started out in 1962 as the Colt .45s.　“I always believed that we could make it,” All-Star sec

BaseballNov. 2, 2017

Race for Korea's pro football MVP heating up

The race to win the top individual award in South Korean pro football is heating up with a top-scoring Brazilian striker and skillful midfielder for the league champions emerging as the top two candidates.The 2017 K League Classic title went to Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors last week with two matches remaining, but individual honors are still up for grabs. The K League is scheduled to announce its award winners on Nov. 20.The MVP is determined by votes from local football reporters. After the 12 K Leag

SoccerNov. 2, 2017

[PyeongChang 2018] Olympic torch goes on unique rides in Jeju

The flame for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games was welcomed to southern Island of Jeju on its relay journey to PyeongChang. The flame, which travelled from Athens to Incheon International Airport on Wednesday, was flown south to Jeju Island from which the torch will travel up the Korean Peninsula. Thursday’s leg in the island will span 21.4 kilometers featuring 85 torchbearers on the way.As well as road runners, the torch was conveyed on unique modes of transport. For the first 200-meter leg of the

Olympic GamesNov. 2, 2017

National football director offers to resign following Hiddink controversy

South Korean football's technical director Kim Ho-gon decided to step down from his position Thursday after getting embroiled in a controversy over Guus Hiddink's coaching offer and a series of poor national team performances. Kim said it would be best for the organization and the men's national team if he no longer worked as the Korea Football Association technical committee chief or vice president. The 66-year-old was appointed as the technical director June 26, 11 days after German head coach

SoccerNov. 2, 2017

Dodgers' Ryu Hyun-jin ends 2017 without postseason appearance

All Ryu Hyun-jin could do was to watch, as his Los Angeles Dodgers lose to the Houston Astros 5-1 in Game 7 of the World Series at home.In fact, the South Korean left-hander did nothing but watch during the Dodgers' postseason run.The Dodgers' loss at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Wednesday (local time) ended their 2017 season, and Ryu never made a postseason appearance.After going 5-9 with a 3.77 ERA in 25 appearances in the regular season, Ryu was left off the roster in all stages of the po

BaseballNov. 2, 2017

Korea should benchmark Germany to develop football: Bundesliga legend

South Korean football legend Cha Bum-kun said Thursday his country should benchmark Germany to develop the sport in a healthy way.Cha, arguably South Korea's best footballer ever, said he believes that the men's national football team can overcome its current crisis by learning from Germany, the defending FIFA World Cup champions and current No. 1 in the world.South Korea managed to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, but football fans have been up in arms over their performance in re

SoccerNov. 2, 2017

Retired star back with former team as coach

A retired South Korean baseball star will be going back to his former club as a coach.The LG Twins in the Korea Baseball Organization said Thursday former All-Star outfielder Lee Byung-kyu will join the team as a coach. His specific role hasn't been determined, though he'll likely be the hitting coach for the Twins' minor league club in the Futures League.Lee, 43, is one of the Twins' greatest players. He spent his entire 17-year KBO career with the Twins, and batted .311 with 2,043 hits, 161 ho

BaseballNov. 2, 2017

[PyeongChang 2018] Suzy bears Olympic Torch

Suzy, a well-known Korean singer and actress, held the Olympic torch for PyeongChang. She ran about 200 meters with the official torch for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics on Incheon Bridge Wednesday. (Yonhap)(Yonhap)The torch relay started Wednesday morning, when the flame landed at Incheon International Airport. (Yonhap)Suzy posted a photo of herself on her Instagram later with the caption “Cheers for PyeongChang Olympics.” (Instagram)By Im Eun-byel (silverstar@heraldcorp.com)

Olympic GamesNov. 2, 2017