Bach reiterates IOC to support N. Korea's Winter Olympic participation

INCHEON -- International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach reaffirmed Monday that the top Olympic body will support North Korea's participation in the upcoming Winter Games in South Korea.Bach arrived in South Korea last Thursday to attend the closing ceremony of the World Taekwondo Championships in Muju, North Jeolla Province. Before leaving the country, Bach had a meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in earlier Monday about North Korea's participation in the 2018 PyeongChang Wint

More SportsJuly 3, 2017

PyeongChang 2018 opens website for environmental info on venues

The organizers of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Games said Monday they have opened a website that provides environmental information, such as air and water quality, on competition venues. (Yonhap)The PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games said its sustainability website will display on-site environmental data for the first time in the games history. The POCOG said people can find live charts on air quality and water quality for the competition venues, alon

More SportsJuly 3, 2017

Slugging outfielder tops KBO All-Star voting

The starting lineups for the All-Star Game in South Korean baseball were announced Monday, with a slugging outfielder from the Kia Tigers finishing as the top vote-getter.The Korea Baseball Organization unveiled the list of 12-man rosters for the Dream and Nanum All-Stars.The 10 clubs were divided into two sides: the Doosan Bears, the Samsung Lions, the SK Wyverns, the Lotte Giants and the KT Wiz for the Dream, and the NC Dinos, the Nexen Heroes, the Hanwha Eagles, the Kia Tigers and the LG Twin

BaseballJuly 3, 2017

Korean golfers come up short of winning LPGA major

South Korean women golfers have come up short of winning the season's second major tournament on the LPGA Tour although they dominated the leaderboard.Five South Koreans finished inside the top 10 at the KPMG Womens PGA Championship, but none of them were able to lift the trophy at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Illinois, on Sunday (local time).Danielle Kang earned her maiden professional tour win with a score of 13-under 271. The Korean-American golfer birdied on the final hole

GolfJuly 3, 2017

Korean sports minister asks for IOC's support in N. Korea's participation in PyeongChang 2018

MUJU -- South Korean Sports Minister Do Jong-hwan on Friday asked the International Olympic Committee for "continuous interest and support" in North Korea's participation in next year's Winter Games south of the border.Do made the remarks in his speech during the closing ceremony of the World Taekwondo Federation World Taekwondo Championships in Muju, 240 kilometers south of Seoul. IOC President Thomas Bach was also in attendance at T1 Arena. Do had earlier proposed a joint Korean women's hockey

More SportsJuly 3, 2017

Taekwondo world championships end with host Korea at top

MUJU -- The 23rd edition of the World Taekwondo Federation World Taekwondo Championships drew to a conclusion on Friday with the host South Korea at the top of the medal standings.South Korea captured five gold medals to lead all participants, and its 10 medals overall also topped the standings. South Korea had one silver and four bronze medals to go along with its five titles.At the previous world championships in Chelyabinsk, Russia, two years ago, South Korea had four gold and one bronze.Sout

More SportsJuly 3, 2017

Fun-loving taekwondo fighter enjoys limelight

MUJU -- For South Korean taekwondo fighter Lee Ah-reum, one of the biggest perks that comes with winning a world title is being in the limelight.The 25-year-old captured her first World Taekwondo Championships gold medal on Friday in Muju, some 240 kilometers south of Seoul. In the women's under-57kg final at T1 Arena, Lee got past Hatice Kubra Ilgun of Turkey 7-5.It was South Korea's competition-best fifth and final gold medal, as the signature event for the World Taekwondo Federation came to a

More SportsJuly 3, 2017

Demonstration performances put finishing touch to taekwondo worlds

MUJU -- Demonstration performances by teams from the two Koreas put the finishing touch on the taekwondo world championships here Friday.Teams from the World Taekwondo Federation and the International Taekwondo Federation helped draw the curtain on the 23rd WTF World Taekwondo Championships in Muju, 240 kilometers south of Seoul.The ITF's team also performed here in the opening ceremony last Saturday, the first time an ITF demo team performed at a WTF event held in South Korea.After appearing in

More SportsJuly 3, 2017

Choi, Kang share lead at Women’s PGA Championship

CHICAGO (AFP) -- South Korea’s Chella Choi and American Danielle Kang, each seeking her first major title, both birdied the 18th hole to share the lead after Saturday’s third round of the Women’s PGA Championship.Choi fired a three-under par 67 while Kang shot 68 to leave both on 10-under 203 after 54 holes at Olympia Fields near Chicago in the second major tournament of the LPGA season. (Yonhap)“I feel very good right now,” Choi said. “My shot and my putting, very good the last couple of weeks,

GolfJuly 2, 2017

Sports set to play bigger role in improving inter-Korean relations

Inter-Korean cooperation in sports may play a bigger role in breaking the current deadlock on the Korean Peninsula, stemming from a recent series of missile launches and nuclear tests carried out by Pyongyang, a report said Sunday."Within the realm of social and cultural exchange between the two Koreas, only sports has survived the strained relations," Kim Dong-sun, a professor from Kyonggi University, said in a report published by the state-run Korea Development Institute. "Sports exchanges hav

More SportsJuly 2, 2017

Lee Ah-reum wins gold at taekwondo world championships

   MUJU -- South Korea's Lee Ah-reum captured gold on the final day of the taekwondo world championships Friday.   Lee defeated Hatice Kubra Ilgun of Turkey 7-5 in the final of the women's under-57kg at the World Taekwondo Championships at Taekwondowon's T1 Arena in Muju, some 240 kilometers south of Seoul.   This was South Korea's tournament-leading fifth and final gold, and its 10th medal overall. The host also won a silver and four bronze medals here.South Korea's Lee Ah-reum after winning go

More SportsJune 30, 2017

For Giants’ Hwang Jae-gyun, MLB debut means major payday

Hwang Jae-gyun of the San Francisco Giants fulfilled a clause in his contract by making his Major League Baseball debut Wednesday, which means he could make up to $1.6 million in incentives. Hwang Jae-gyun celebrates after collecting his first major league hit, a home run. (Yonhap)In January, Hwang signed a minor league deal with San Francisco that included performance-based bonuses and incentives. His starting minor league salary was $125,000, but the contract included a $1.5 million bonus for

BaseballJune 30, 2017

Kim So-hee takes bronze at taekwondo worlds

MUJU -- South Korean taekwondo practitioner Kim So-hee grabbed a bronze medal in the women's under-62kg on the final day of the world championships Friday.Kim withdrew from her semifinals match against Ruth Gbagbi of Côte d'Ivoire with a knee injury at the World Taekwondo Federation World Taekwondo Championships in Muju, some 240 kilometers south of Seoul. Trailing 5-0 only 37 seconds into the match at T1 Arena, Kim twisted her right knee as she fell down trying to fend off Gbagbi's attack.Kim S

More SportsJune 30, 2017

IOC President Bach hails taekwondo's evolution into 'global' sport

MUJU -- Taekwondo may have started in Korea, but the martial art has now evolved into a truly global sport, the world's Olympic chief said Friday.Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, visited Muju, 240 kilometers south of Seoul, for the closing of the World Taekwondo Championships, hosted by the World Taekwondo Federation.Bach congratulated the WTF and its South Korean president, Choue Chung-won, for the successful competition, which was the largest in its history with 9

More SportsJune 30, 2017

Taekwondo bodies agree to hold joint performance at 2018 Winter Olympics

MUJU -- Two international organizations for the Korean martial art of taekwondo have agreed to hold a joint performance during next year's Winter Olympics in South Korea, the sport's top official said Friday.Choue Chung-won, president of the World Taekwondo Federation, said his organization and the North Korea-led International Taekwondo Federation have reached "a verbal agreement" to perform together during the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.The WTF, headquartered in Seoul, is the official in

More SportsJune 30, 2017

Korea's key World Cup qualifier to be played in Seoul

A key World Cup qualifying match for South Korea next month will take place in Seoul, the national football governing body said Friday.The Korea Football Association said the match against Iran in the final Asian qualifying round for the 2018 FIFA World Cup will be played at Seoul World Cup Stadium on Aug. 31.South Korea are currently in second place in Group A with 13 points, holding on to the last automatic qualification berth while sitting just one point above Uzbekistan with two matches to p

SoccerJune 30, 2017

Stumbling blocks ahead for Koreas to assemble joint women's hockey team at PyeongChang 2018

South Korea will have plenty of stumbling blocks ahead in its bid to assemble a unified, all-Korean women's hockey team at next year's PyeongChang Winter Olympics.New Sports Minister Do Jong-hwan told PyeongChang's organizing committee on Tuesday that he'll have discussions with the International Olympic Committee on putting together a joint Korean squad for the competition.Promoting peace has long been one of the goals of PyeongChang 2018, the first Winter Games to take place in South Korea. Wi

More SportsJune 30, 2017

N. Korean IOC member says Koreas face time crunch to field joint team at '18 Olympics

MUJU -- The Koreas face a time crunch and political uncertainty before they could start discussions on fielding a joint team at next year's Winter Olympics south of the border, the North's lone International Olympic Committee member said Thursday.Chang Ung has been in South Korea since last Friday for the World Taekwondo Federation World Taekwondo Championships in Muju, 240 kilometers south of Seoul. He traveled with a delegation from the North Korea-led International Taekwondo Federation.Chang

More SportsJune 30, 2017