Schedules announced for baseball postseason

Schedules for South Korean baseball's postseason were announced on Wednesday.The wild card game between the fourth- and fifth-ranked teams at 2 p.m. on Oct. 5 will launch the postseason play, the Korea Baseball Organization said. The 144-game regular season is scheduled to finish on Oct. 3.The fourth seed will be the host, and it can advance to the first round of the playoffs either with a victory or a tie in the first game. If the fifth seed wins the first wild card game, then there will be a s

BaseballSept. 20, 2017

Beckham says Korean natl. team will improve

David Beckham said Wednesday he thinks the South Korean national football team will overcome difficult situations and become a better team, emphasizing that all teams and players go through adversity.The 42-year-old retired football star from Britain visited South Korea as a global ambassador for AIA, the pan-Asian insurance group, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary in the country, to talk about healthy lifestyle and promote the company's new campaign "What's Your Why?"During a press conf

SoccerSept. 20, 2017

Latest PGA playoff winner to compete in Korea next month

The latest FedEx Cup playoff winner will compete in the first PGA Tour event in South Korea next month, the organizers said Wednesday.Marc Leishman, who captured last week's BMW Championship, has committed to the CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges, which will be played from Oct. 19-22 at the Club at Nine Bridges on Jeju Island.CJ Group said it will be Leishman's first appearance in South Korea since competing for the International Team at the 2015 Presidents Cup in Incheon. This promotional poster of the CJ

GolfSept. 20, 2017

In absence, Pirates' Kang Jung-ho misses camaraderie with teammates

GWANGJU  -- On the Pittsburgh Pirates' roster this season, South Korean third baseman Kang Jung-ho has been conspicuous by his absence.The 30-year-old hasn't been able to secure his US work permit this year after his drunk driving conviction. He had his third impaired driving arrest in South Korea last December, and got an eight-month jail term, suspended for two years, in March. He lost his appeal two months later and his big league career remains in limbo sans visa.Sitting out the entire seaso

BaseballSept. 20, 2017

Korean midfielder set to join UAE's Al Ahli

South Korean midfielder Kim Young-wook is set to sign with United Arab Emirates football club Shabab Al Ahli Dubai, officials from his current club said Tuesday. K League Classic team Jeonnam Dragons said they're pushing for Kim's move to Al Ahli, and the player will soon fly to Dubai for a medical. The Arabian Gulf League, the UAE's top league, started its new season last weekend, and the player registration deadline is the second week of October.  In this file photo taken Feb. 23, 2017, Jeonna

SoccerSept. 19, 2017

Korean short trackers to focus on process in Olympic season

Entering the Olympic season in a few days, South Korean short track speed skaters said Monday they'll focus more on the process than the end results.The national team skaters will compete at the 2017-2018 International Skating Union World Cup Short Track Speed Skating season starting Sept. 28 in Budapest, Hungary. Three more World Cups will take place in Dordrecht in the Netherlands, Shanghai and Seoul through mid-November, collectively serving as a prelude to the PyeongChang Winter Games next F

More SportsSept. 18, 2017

Young short tracker 'nervous' before intl. debut

Days from his senior international debut, South Korean short track speed skater Lim Hyo-jun said Monday he's got butterflies in his stomach.In April, the 21-year-old stunned former Olympic gold medalists and world champions to earn a spot on the national team for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. In tune-ups for the Olympics on home ice, Lim will compete in the International Skating Union World Cup Short Track Speed Skating season.The first leg will open in Budapest, Hungary, on Sept. 28. So

More SportsSept. 18, 2017

Venue confirmed for Korea's football friendly vs. Russia

South Korea will play against the 2018 FIFA World Cup hosts Russia at a multi-use stadium in Moscow next month, the national football governing body said Monday.The Korea Football Association said the match will kick off at 5 p.m. on Oct. 7 local time (or 11 p.m. in Seoul) at the 30,000-seat VEB Arena, home of PFC CSKA Moscow.The KFA earlier this month announced that South Korea will take on Russia for their 2018 World Cup preparations. The showdown in Moscow is the first friendly since South Ko

SoccerSept. 18, 2017

Dodgers' Ryu Hyun-jin pulled in 5th vs. Nationals in another no-decision

Ryu Hyun-jin of the Los Angeles Dodgers has picked up another no-decision despite a solid outing, getting pulled just one out shy of qualifying for a win.The South Korean left-hander tossed 4 2/3 scoreless innings against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park in Washington on Sunday (local time). He cruised through four innings, but nursing a 1-0 lead with two outs in the bottom fifth, Ryu walked the final two batters he faced before Ross Stripling came in to clean up the mess.Stripling esc

BaseballSept. 18, 2017

French Open champ says world No. 1 open to any top-10 tennis player

The reigning French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko said Monday she thinks the No. 1 ranking in women's tennis is open to any top-10 player in the world, saying youngsters, including herself, will emerge as powerhouses.Ostapenko, currently world No. 10, came to South Korea last Friday to compete at the KEB HanaBank Incheon Airport Korea Open, the country's only Women's Tennis Association Tour event, which starts at Olympic Park in Seoul on Monday. She is the top-seeded player of the tournament an

More SportsSept. 18, 2017

7 out of 10 Koreans say natl. football team needs Hiddink

More than 70 percent of South Koreans believe the men's national football team needs to hire Dutch tactician Guus Hiddink for the FIFA World Cup next year, a survey showed Monday.In the survey of 505 adults conducted by Realmeter nationwide last week, 70.2 percent said that Hiddink should be given a job, whether as a coach or a technical advisor, within the national football team for the World Cup in Russia. Hiddink previously guided South Korea to the 2002 World Cup semifinals.The survey was co

SoccerSept. 18, 2017

Koreans' charge falls short at LPGA season's final major

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France -- South Korean contenders' charge fell short at the LPGA Tour's final major championship of the season here on Sunday.Kim Sei-young was the top finisher from the South Korean contingent at the weather-shortened Evian Championship at par-71 Evian Resort Golf Club in Evian-les-Bains, France, where she tied for sixth at seven-under 206. Kim ended two strokes out of the playoff between Brittany Altomare and Anna Nordqvist.Nordqvist beat Altomare with a bogey on the first pla

GolfSept. 18, 2017

New IOC ethics chief vows to improve transparency

EUMSEONG -- Ban Ki-moon, the newly elected chief of the ethics body at the International Olympic Committee, said Sunday he feels a heavy responsibility taking the job, but will try to improve the transparency of the organization. Ban, who served as the UN secretary-general from January 2007 to December 2016, was officially elected at the IOC Session in Lima, Peru, on Thursday (local time) to lead the Ethics Commission, an independent body that establishes the framework of ethical principles and

Olympic GamesSept. 17, 2017

S. Korean archer Kim Woo-jin sets world record in 90m recurve

South Korea's Kim Woo-jin set a world record in the men's 90-meter recurve archery at a local competition on Friday.Kim, 25, scored 343 points out of a possible 360 in the preliminary round of the 49th National All-Star Archery Tournament at Jinho International Archery Center in Yecheon, North Gyeongsang Province, beating the previous record set by his compatriot Oh Jin-hyek in 2009 by one point. The South Korean event is sanctioned by World Archery, the sport's international governing body, and

More SportsSept. 15, 2017

Football executive reaffirms support for nat'l team boss amid Hiddink row

The technical director of South Korean football on Friday reaffirmed his stance that the men's national team for the 2018 FIFA World Cup will be led by current boss Shin Tae-yong, rejecting speculation that former head coach Guus Hiddink might return to his old job. Kim Ho-gon, who leads the Korea Football Association's technical committee, said in a statement that his trust in Shin remains the same and emphasized that the 46-year-old South Korean will coach the national team at the World Cup in

SoccerSept. 15, 2017

Guus Hiddink likely to meet Korea football coach in Russia next month

Guus Hiddink, who recently pledged his support for South Korea at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, is expected to meet current national football team boss Shin Tae-yong next month in Russia, an official with the Korea Football Association said Friday, amid speculation of the Dutchman returning to a coaching job. South Korea will face the 2018 World Cup hosts Russia in a friendly match in Moscow on Oct. 7. Hiddink, who guided South Korea to the semifinals at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, is scheduled to visit

SoccerSept. 15, 2017

Ex-UN chief Ban Ki-moon officially elected to lead IOC's ethics body

Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has been elected to lead the ethics body at the International Olympic Committee.Ban, who served as the UN leader from January 2007 to December 2016, was the only candidate to succeed outgoing chairman Youssoupha Ndiaye. He received 74 of the 78 valid votes cast at the IOC Session in Lima, Peru, on Thursday (local time). The 73-year-old South Korean was recommended by the IOC Executive Board to be its new chair of the Ethics Commission in July. "I believe t

More SportsSept. 15, 2017

Korea falls 2 spots to 51st in FIFA rankings for Sept.

South Korea, which recently qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, has dropped out of the top 50 in the latest world rankings from the world football governing body.According to the September rankings unveiled by FIFA on Thursday, South Korea fell two spots to No. 51, having accumulated 659 points. The country trails three other Asian Football Confederation members: Iran (23rd), Japan (40th) and Australia (50th). South Korea began 2017 at No. 37, but its ranking has gradually fallen over the yea

SoccerSept. 15, 2017

Guus Hiddink says willing to support Korean football in any way

AMSTERDAM -- Former men's national football team head coach Guus Hiddink said Thursday that he is willing to help South Korean football in any way. Hiddink, who guided South Korea to the 2002 FIFA World Cup semifinals, told South Korean reporters in Amsterdam that he is ready to help the men's national football team if the Korean people want him back. The former Chelsea and Real Madrid manager said he has yet to talk with the Korea Football Association, but if he receives an official offer, he i

SoccerSept. 14, 2017

Indian golfer disqualified from Korean event after oversleeping

INCHEON -- Four-time European Tour winner Shiv Shankar Prasad Chawrasia of India was disqualified from a golf tournament in South Korea Thursday after he overslept and missed his tee time. The organizers of the Shinhan Donghae Open said Chawrasia failed to show up for his first round tee time at Cheongna Bear's Best Golf Club in Incheon. Under the tournament rules, if a player shows up at his starting point up to five minutes after his tee time, he or she will be given a two-stroke penalty, but

GolfSept. 14, 2017