PyeongChang to open Olympic promotional center in Rio

The organizers of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics on Thursday said they will open a promotional center in Rio de Janeiro, the site of this year's Summer Games.The PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games said it will operate the "PyeongChang 2018 House in Rio" on Copacabana Beach during the Aug. 5-21 Rio Olympics. It will also be open during the Sept. 7-18 Summer Paralympics.The beach is one of the main tourist attractions in the Brazilian city.The P

SportsJuly 21, 2016

Chung Mong-gyu elected to 2nd term as football chief

Korean business executive Chung Mong-gyu has been re-elected as the national football chief.The Korea Football Association said Thursday that Chung was elected to a second term as its president by a unanimous vote of the 98 members in attendance. Chung was the sole candidate in the election and needed a majority of 106 electoral votes to retain his seat.  (Yonhap)Chung is the chief executive of the construction firm Hyundai Development Co. He served his first KFA term from January 2013 to June 2

SoccerJuly 21, 2016

Jeonbuk re-sign Brazilian striker

Korean football club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on Thursday announced they have re-acquired former striker Eduardo Goncalves de Oliveira, better known as Edu, from the Chinese side Hebei China Fortune FC.Jeonbuk said they wanted Edu because he is a proven striker in the top-tier K League Classic. The 34-year-old Brazilian, who also played with Suwon Samsung Bluewings from 2007 to 2009, has 41 goals and 18 assists in 115 K League matches. (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors)"We needed a proven attacker who can h

SoccerJuly 21, 2016

Baseball pitcher indicted in match-fixing scandal

A Korean baseball pitcher has been indicted on charges of engaging in match-fixing schemes.Prosecutors in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, some 400 kilometers southeast of Seoul, said Thursday that Lee Tae-yang, pitcher for the NC Dinos in the Korea Baseball Organization, has been indicted without physical detention for allegedly fixing games. Another baseball player, outfielder Moon Woo-ram, has also come under investigation for similar charges, but his case has been handed over to the mili

BaseballJuly 21, 2016

Rangers' Choo Shin-soo headed to DL for 3rd time in '16

The Texas Rangers' Korean outfielder Choo Shin-soo is headed to the disabled list for the third time this season.The Rangers placed Choo on the 15-day DL on Wednesday (local time) with inflammation in his lower back. The club said he had an anti-inflammatory injection and is expected to miss up to 14 days.Choo was out from April 9 to May 19 with a right calf injury.He played one game and then went back on the DL with a left hamstring injury, missing action from May 21 to June 12.He had missed th

BaseballJuly 21, 2016

Cardinals' Oh Seung-hwan earns 3rd save of season

Oh Seung-hwan of the St. Louis Cardinals picked up two saves in one day with two perfect innings of work.The Korean reliever shut down the San Diego Padres in both games of the doubleheader at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Wednesday (local time). The right-hander became the first Cardinals pitcher since Jason Isringhausen in August 2004 to save two games in one day. (Yonhap)Oh, a former star closer in South Korea and Japan, is now 4-for-4 in save opportunities since taking over from struggling f

BaseballJuly 21, 2016

Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea to host LPGA's int'l match play competition in 2018

Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Korea, lying just west of the nation's capital, will host the LPGA's international match play competition in 2018.The third edition of the biennial International Crown will be the first to be played outside the United States. The LPGA Tour made the announcement at Merit Club in Gurnee, Illinois, the site of this year's International Crown, on Wednesday (local time).Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea, located in Incheon, west of Seoul, also hosted the 2015 Presidents Cup, a

GolfJuly 21, 2016

Korean chefs present local cuisine for 2018 PyeongChang Olympics

Korean chefs on Wednesday showcased a variety of Korean dishes made with local ingredients from Gangwon Province, the venue for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, with a subtle twist to capture the taste buds of athletes and visitors to the upcoming event.  Three venues in Gangwon Province -- PyeongChang, Gangneung and Jeongseon -- each developed 10 dishes with local ingredients as part of efforts to globalize Korean cuisine during the international sports event.Gangwon Province is located so

SportsJuly 20, 2016

Koreans gear up for 2nd International Crown

Four Korean golfers competing in an international match play event this week said they will try to erase disappointing memories.Korea is the top seed at the second edition of the International Crown, an LPGA's match play competition taking place at Merit Club in Gurnee, Illinois, near Chicago. (Yonhap)Eight countries are competing with four players apiece. The field of 32 players was determined by the world rankings as of June 13, with the four highest-ranked players representing each nation.Aft

GolfJuly 20, 2016

Dodgers' Ryu Hyun-jin headed back to DL after one start

Los Angeles Dodgers' Korean pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin is headed back to the disabled list after one start.The Dodgers on Tuesday (local time) placed the left-hander on the 15-day DL with left elbow tendinitis, retroactive to July 9.Ryu had been scheduled to start against the Washington Nationals on the road on Wednesday.Ryu made just one start after returning from surgery to repair a torn labrum in his pitching shoulder. On July 7 against the San Diego Padres, Ryu was touched for six runs on eight hi

BaseballJuly 20, 2016

Park In-bee to warm up for Rio Games in Jeju

Korean golfer Park In-bee will fine-tune her preparations for the Rio de Janeiro Summer Games by competing in an event on home soil, her Seoul-based agency said Tuesday. Galaxia SM said Park will enter a Korean LPGA event on Jeju Island that starts on Aug. 5. The women's Olympic golf competition is set for Aug. 17-20. "For Park In-bee, the Jeju Samdasoo Masters will be her warm-up event for the Rio Games," an official from Galaxia SM said. "She has started her swing practice and her injury is ge

SportsJuly 19, 2016

Korea holds team launching ceremony for Rio Olympics

Korea set out on its quest for a top-10 finish at next month's Rio de Janeiro Olympics with a team launching ceremony on Tuesday.Some 300 athletes and officials were on hand at Olympic Hall, inside the Olympic Park in Seoul, along with Kim Jung-haeng and Kang Young-joong, co-heads of the Korean Olympic Committee, Kim Jong-deok, minister of culture, sports and tourism, and Chung Mong-gyu, head of the delegation.Korea is eyeing its fourth consecutive top-10 showing at a Summer Games in Rio by winn

SportsJuly 19, 2016

Angels' Choi Ji-man belts first major league home run

Choi Ji-man of the Los Angeles Angels has finally gone deep in the majors.Choi hit his first career big league home run off the Texas Rangers starter A.J. Griffin at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on Monday (local time).The Korean first baseman led off the bottom of the fifth with the Angels down 4-2, and crushed Griffin's first-pitch fastball over the right field wall to make it a one-run game.The home run came in Choi's 34th at-bat.It was also Choi's only hit of the game. He was 1-for-4 and is now b

BaseballJuly 19, 2016

Korean boxer earns last-minute ticket to Rio

Korean boxer Ham Sang-myeong has earned his ticket to the Rio de Janeiro Summer Games despite his elimination at the Olympic qualifiers, the national amateur boxing governing body said Tuesday. The Boxing Association of Korea said it received a document from the International Boxing Association, the amateur boxing governing body, early Tuesday morning that says Ham, who fights at bantamweight (under-56kg), can compete at the Rio Games. Ham, the 2014 Asian Games gold medalist, was eliminated in t

SportsJuly 19, 2016

Fencer named Korean flag bearer at Rio Olympics

Korean fencer Gu Bon-gil has been named Korea's flag bearer at the opening ceremony for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, the Korean Olympic Committee announced Tuesday. The KOC said Gu, who is a member of the gold medal-winning men's sabre team at the 2012 London Games, will carry the national flag at the opening ceremony for the 31st Summer Games which will be staged at Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Aug. 5. Gu, 27, is currently ranked world No. 4 in men's sabre. He also has three A

SportsJuly 19, 2016

Manager for defending baseball champions gets contract extension

The manager of the defending Korean baseball champions received a contract extension on Monday.The Doosan Bears in the Korea Baseball Organization said they and Kim Tae-hyung have agreed in principle to a three-year contract extension, which will take the 48-year-old through the 2019 season.The financial details will be negotiated after the end of this season. Kim took over the Bears before the 2015 season on a two-year deal.The extension comes as no surprise, as Kim guided the Bears to their fi

BaseballJuly 18, 2016

PyeongChang launches nat'l tour for Olympic mascots

The organizers of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics on Monday launched a nationwide tour for the event mascots in hopes they will help further drive up interest in the country's first Winter Games.The PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games kicked off the national promotion tour of its mascots Soohorang, a white tiger, and Bandabi, an Asiatic black bear, in a ceremony at Hoenggye Elementary School in the host city of PyeongChang some 180 kilometers ea

SportsJuly 18, 2016