Korean striker signs with Japan's Gamba Osaka

Seongnam FC striker Hwang Ui-jo will move to Japan's Gamba Osaka, his second division South Korean club announced Tuesday. The K League Challenge side said they've reached an agreement with Gamba on Hwang's transfer. The 24-year-old striker will join the J League outfit on a two-year contract, but the clubs didn't announce the financial details of the deal. In this file photo taken on Sept. 2, 2016, South Korean striker Hwang Ui-jo speaks to reporters after national football team training at the

SoccerJune 20, 2017

Tottenham's Son Heung-min leaves hospital after forearm surgery

Tottenham Hotspur's South Korean star Son Heung-min on Tuesday was discharged from a Seoul hospital where he underwent surgery on his broken right forearm.Son went under the knife last Friday to fix a fractured forearm, which he sustained during the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Qatar at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha a week ago. The 24-year-old, however, still has to visit the hospital for additional treatment before starting rehabilitation.South Korean footballer Son Heung-min

SoccerJune 20, 2017

History awaits as Korea readies for largest-ever taekwondo worlds

The upcoming taekwondo world championships in South Korea will be a historic one on many levels, as the organizers prepare for the largest competition to date.The 2017 World Taekwondo Federation World Taekwondo Championships will take place in Muju, some 240 kilometers south of Seoul from June 24 to 30. This is the 23rd edition of the biennial competition, and the seventh in South Korea.The WTF announced last week that 971 athletes from 183 nations have registered to compete, making this the lar

More SportsJune 20, 2017

Korean pro football league set to introduce VAR system in July

South Korea's pro football league said Monday that a video review system will be implemented next month to reduce refereeing mistakes and enhance the quality of matches.The K League, the operator of the pro football competitions, said the video assistant referee system will be adopted July 1 in its first division K League Classic after going through a three-month test. The International Football Association Board, the Swiss-based body that determines football rules, approved the K League's test

SoccerJune 19, 2017

Korean Olympic chief to run for IOC seat

The South Korean Olympic chief is running for a seat on the International Olympic Committee, an official with the top national sports body said Monday.Lee Kee-heung, president of the Korea Sport & Olympic Committee, submitted his candidacy documents to the IOC's Members Election Commission on Friday, according to the official with the KSOC.The Members Election Commission will review candidates' qualifications and narrow down the list for the IOC's Executive Board meeting starting July 9 in Lausa

More SportsJune 19, 2017

British artist's works on Korean ballparks no trivial pursuit

Andy Brown is a member of that rare species: a British man who's fallen in love with South Korean baseball. His first Korea Baseball Organization game was in fall of 2009. Turn the clock forward to 2017. Not only is Brown going to KBO games frequently, he's making artworks out of them.The 36-year-old artist boasts an impressive collection of pastel, watercolor and acrylic paintings of baseball stadiums in South Korea, Japan and the United States, and he'd like to keep expanding it so that he can

BaseballJune 19, 2017

Korean hockey club hires ex-NHL head coach

A South Korean hockey club has hired a former National Hockey League head coach.The Daemyung Killer Whales in the Asia League Ice Hockey announced Monday they have signed Kevin Constantine to be their new head coach. The financial terms of the three-year deal were not disclosed. They're the first South Korean team to hire an ex-NHL bench boss.(Daemyung Killer Whales)Constantine, a 58-year-old American, previously coached the San Jose Sharks, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New Jersey Devils in t

More SportsJune 19, 2017

Swimmer Park Tae-hwan departs for Rome to open pre-worlds camp

South Korean swimmer Park Tae-hwan departed for Rome on Sunday to open his pre-world championships training camp, with an eye on a gold medal at the biennial competition.Park, 27, is scheduled to compete at the FINA World Aquatics Championships in Budapest. The competition begins July 14 with synchronized swimming and diving, and the swimming portion starts July 23.South Korean swimmer Park Tae-hwan holds a press conference in Seoul on June 16, 2017. (Yonhap)This will be Park's first world champ

More SportsJune 18, 2017

Rangers' Choo Shin-soo belts 10th home run in win

Choo Shin-soo of the Texas Rangers has reached double figures in home runs for the first time in two years.Choo hit a two-run blast off Seattle Mariners reliever Dan Altavilla in the Rangers' five-run sixth inning at Globe Life Park in Arlington in Texas on Saturday (local time).Choo, who batted leadoff and played in right field, also hit a single in the second for a 2-for-5 day at the plate, helping the Rangers to a 10-4 victory.Choo is now batting .261 with 10 home runs and 32 RBIs.The 34-year

BaseballJune 18, 2017

Paralympic athlete loses state living subsidy after winning gold medal

South Korea's government is drawing fire for stripping a Paralympic gold medal winner of basic state subsidies for livelihood stability, critics said Saturday.The controversial policy came to light after Chung Ho-won, a disabled resident of Sokcho on the east coast, said he lost his status as the beneficiary of basic livelihood security aid after winning a boccia gold medal at the Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in August last year.Boccia is a competitive sport practiced by people

More SportsJune 18, 2017

Dodgers' Ryu Hyun-jin beats Reds in return match for 3rd win of season

Ryu Hyun-jin of the Los Angeles Dodgers has beaten the Cincinnati Reds in a return match for his third win of 2017.Ryu improved to 3-6 after holding the Reds to two earned runs in five innings in the Dodgers' 10-2 victory on Saturday (local time) at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.Ryu scattered eight hits while striking out seven and walking two. He lowered his ERA from 4.42 to 4.35.Six days earlier, the Reds touched Ryu for three home runs in four innings in one of the left-hander's wors

BaseballJune 18, 2017

Korean swimmer Park Tae-hwan eyes gold at world championships

South Korean swimmer Park Tae-hwan said Friday he wants to grab a gold medal at the upcoming world championships.The former Olympic freestyle champion returned home from Sydney on Thursday after completing his four-month training for the FINA World Aquatics Championships that start July 23. He will depart for Rome on Sunday to set up a new training camp before moving to Budapest for the biennial event. (Yonhap)It will be Park's first appearance at a world championships held in a long course pool

More SportsJune 16, 2017

Son Heung-min undergoes successful arm surgery

Tottenham Hotspur's South Korean star Son Heung-min underwent surgery on his broken right forearm Friday, officials here said. The 24-year-old South Korean went under the knife to treat a fractured forearm at a Seoul hospital, an official with the Korea Football Association (KFA) said. He sustained the injury during the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Qatar at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha on Tuesday. The surgery, which took about an hour, was successfully completed, and the foot

SoccerJune 16, 2017

Son Heung-min to undergo arm surgery Friday

South Korean football star Son Heung-min will undergo surgery on his broken right forearm on Friday, his English Premier League (EPL) club said.Tottenham Hotspur announced on their website that the 24-year-old South Korean will go under the knife to treat a fractured forearm. He sustained the injury during the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Qatar at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha on Tuesday. The exact location and time for his surgery have not been revealed, but sources here said

SoccerJune 16, 2017

Slugger credits aggressive approach with torrid home run pace

South Korean baseball slugger Choi Jeong is no longer afraid of swinging with two strikes, which in turn has put him on a torrid home run pace this season.The SK Wyverns third baseman went deep in back-to-back at-bats against the Hanwha Eagles on Thursday to take the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) lead with 22 home runs.This was the Wyverns' 64th game of the 144-game season, and Choi's 58th appearance.Choi Jeong (Yonhap)Choi, who tied for the league lead last year with 40, is on pace for 52 h

BaseballJune 16, 2017

Dismissal completes fall from grace for once-revered football coach

The firing of Uli Stielike as the South Korea men's football head coach Thursday completed a rather precipitous fall from grace for a man once hailed as "god."The Korea Football Association made the decision in its technical committee meeting, held barely two days after South Korea lost to Qatar 3-2 in Doha in the final Asian qualification round for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.Uli Stielike, former head coach of the South Korean men's football team, listens to a reporter's question at Incheon Interna

SoccerJune 15, 2017

With coach gone, players must step up to right sinking ship

The ship that is the South Korean men's national football team has now been left without its navigator, and the onus will fall as much on the players as on the new boss to make sure it doesn't sink further.Uli Stielike was fired Thursday as the men's bench boss, a decision reached by the Korea Football Association (KFA) barely two days after the country's 3-2 loss to Qatar in a World Cup qualifier.South Korea remained stuck at 13 points with four wins, a draw and three losses to stay in second p

SoccerJune 15, 2017

Nat'l football head coach Uli Stielike sacked following World Cup qualifier loss

South Korea sacked Uli Stielike as their men's football head coach Thursday in the wake of their World Cup qualifying loss to Qatar.The Korea Football Association said it decided to part ways with Stielike following a technical committee meeting at the National Football Center in Paju, north of Seoul. The announcement was made just a day after Stielike and the South Korean squad returned home from Doha, where they fell to Qatar 3-2 in the final Asian qualifying round for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

SoccerJune 15, 2017