Pirates' Bae Ji-hwan placed on injured list with sprained ankle

Bae Ji-hwan of the Pittsburgh Pirates has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left ankle sprain, bringing his first half of the season to a premature conclusion. The Pirates made the move Sunday (local time), a day after the South Korean utility player suffered the injury while making a diving play on a groundball against the Milwaukee Brewers. Bae will miss a minimum of 10 days, and with the Pirates having seven more days of action left in the first half, Bae won't be back in act

BaseballJuly 3, 2023

June's greatest Sho: A look back at Ohtani's best month in the majors

ANAHEIM, California -- Shohei Ohtani’s walkup music most of last season was the theme to “The Greatest Showman.” After the Los Angeles Angels star’s June, he should consider returning to it. The Japanese two-way phenom has amazed fans, teammates and opponents since coming to the majors in 2018. June, though was “The Greatest Sho” at the plate. “I’m in a good spot right now,” Ohtani said through interpreter Ippei Mizuhara when asked if he was

BaseballJuly 2, 2023

AS Roma’s summer trip to S. Korea canceled

A summer exhibition tour by the Italian football club AS Roma has been canceled. Stadium X, the local promoter for the proposed preseason trip, announced Friday AS Roma’s matches against the Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers and the K League 1 side Incheon United will not take place as scheduled. The announcement comes on the heels of a report in Italian media over the weekend that AS Roma would not travel to South Korea because local organizers had not delivered on financial com

SoccerJune 30, 2023

Padres' Kim Ha-seong belts solo shot; Bae Ji-hwan, Pirates sweep series

Kim Ha-seong of the San Diego Padres has won the battle but lost the war to a fellow South Korean player. Kim smacked a solo home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park in Pittsburgh on Thursday. However, the Pirates, featuring their own South Korean player in infielder Bae Ji-hwan, won the game 5-4 to complete a three-game sweep of the Padres. Kim, after batting leadoff in the past several games, hit out of the seventh spot in this game, and went 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Bae, who also bat

BaseballJune 30, 2023

Weightlifting champion Jang Mi-ran tapped as vice minister

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday named Jang Mi-ran, a physical education professor and former Olympic weightlifting champion, as the vice minister of culture and sports. Jang, 39, will become The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's second vice minister, whose main responsibility is handling sports-related affairs, according to officials. With the ministry having two vice ministers, Jang will cooperate with the current first vice minister Chun Byong-geuk in overseeing the ministry&#

CultureJune 29, 2023

Kiwoom Heroes sign veteran infielder to 1st multiyear deal in team history

The Kiwoom Heroes said Wednesday they have signed veteran infielder Lee Won-seok to the first multiyear contract in franchise history. Lee, 36, agreed to a new two-year contract, plus a vesting option for a third year -- meaning, if Lee reaches a certain performance incentive threshold, the third season becomes guaranteed. Lee was scheduled to become a free agent following the 2024 season, but the Heroes gave him additional security with Wednesday's deal. In July 2021, the Korea Baseball

BaseballJune 28, 2023

Top pro football league tops 10,000 in average attendance in 1st half

On the strength of an offensive surge and a tight race in the middle, the top South Korean professional football league has established an attendance record for its current format. The 12 teams in the K League 1 averaged 10,328 fans per match through 19 out of 38 contests this season, the league office announced Tuesday. It's the largest figure for the first half since the K League introduced the promotion-relegation system in 2013. Last year, with the country still not fully out of the COV

SoccerJune 27, 2023

S. Korean defender Kim Ji-soo signs with Brentford

South Korean football defender Kim Ji-soo has signed with the Premier League club Brentford. Brentford announced their acquisition of the 18-year-old Monday for an undisclosed fee on a four-year deal, with a club option for a fifth year. The deal is subject to international clearance, Brentford added. Kim, who completed a medical late last week, will join Brentford's B-team for pre-season training this week. Kim played in 19 matches for Seongnam FC in the K League 1 last year on a semi-pro

SoccerJune 27, 2023

Celtic target Yang Hyun-jun declares desire to move to Europe

Caught between a European club wanting his services and his current team hoping to hold onto him, Gangwon FC attacker Yang Hyun-jun has made it clear he'd like to play overseas someday. "It's a dream for every player to go to Europe," Yang said after a 1-1 draw against Suwon FC in a K League 1 match Sunday, three days after Gangwon acknowledged having received an offer from Scottish champions Celtic FC for the promising 21-year-old. "I know our team is in a difficult sit

SoccerJune 26, 2023

Jenny Shin ties for 8th at LPGA major tournament

Unable to make key putts in the final round, South Korean Jenny Shin has finished tied for eighth at the second major tournament of the 2023 LPGA season. Shin shot a one-over 72 in the weather-interrupted final round at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey, on Sunday and ended at five-under 279 for the four-round event. Yin Ruoning of China grabbed her maiden major title at eight-under 276. She carded a bogey-free 67 in the final round to hold

GolfJune 26, 2023

Jenny Shin in hunt for maiden LPGA major; Ko Jin-young lurking 4 shots back

South Korean Jenny Shin finds herself one shot off the lead in pursuit of her first career LPGA major title after a strong third-round charge up the leaderboard. Shin fired a bogey-free round of five-under 66 in the third round of the KPMG Women's PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey, on Saturday. It was the lowest score in the field on the day and pushed Shin to second place at six-under 207 overall, one behind the leader, Leona Maguire of Ireland, who is tryi

GolfJune 25, 2023

Bogaerts, Soto and Kim homer to back Musgrove in the Padres' 13-3 win over the Nationals

Xander Bogaerts, Juan Soto and Kim Ha-seong hit home runs and Joe Musgrove threw seven strong innings to lead the San Diego Padres to a 13-3 victory against the Washington Nationals on Friday night. The superstar-laden Padres, who have struggled at the plate most of the season to tumble into fourth place in the NL West, scored in double digits in consecutive games for the first time this year. They won 10-0 at San Francisco on Thursday to avoid a four-game sweep. Bogaerts hit a three-run shot,

BaseballJune 24, 2023

Jenny Shin 3 off lead at LPGA major; Ko Jin-young 6 back

Jenny Shin is the top South Korean player after the opening round of the second major championship of the LPGA season. Shin shot a two-under 69 to tie five others for sixth place in the first round of the KPMG Women's PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey, on Thursday. The par-71 course played at 6,511 yards in the opening round. Shin, whose Korean given name is Ji-eun, had five birdies against three bogeys. Her lone LPGA win to date came in May 2016. Lee-Anne P

GolfJune 23, 2023

Kim Ha-seong ends homer drought, helps Padres snap losing streak

Kim Ha-seong of the San Diego Padres has homered for the first time in June. Batting leadoff, the South Korean infielder went 1-for-3 with a home run, an RBI, two walks and two runs scored, as the Padres blanked the San Francisco Giants 10-0 at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Thursday. Kim's previous home run came on May 24 against the Washington Nationals. He now has six home runs on the season, along with 22 RBIs, 13 steals and a .251/.342/.377 line in 71 games. Kim drew a leadoff walk ag

BaseballJune 23, 2023

Korean soccer players suspended for 1 game, fined W15m for allegedly racist comments

Three Korean soccer players with Ulsan Hyundai FC were suspended for one game and fined 15 million won ($11,500) each on Thursday for posting allegedly racist comments online. A disciplinary committee under the Korea Professional Football League announced their decision to punish Ulsan defender Lee Myung-jae and his teammates Lee Gyu-sung and Park Yong-woo for posting allegedly racist comments on social media, one of which referenced Thai player Sasalak Haiprakhon earlier this month. This marks

SoccerJune 22, 2023

World No. 1 Ko Jin-young honored to match LPGA legend's record

South Korean star Ko Jin-young matched an LPGA record to start this week, as she remained at No. 1 in the women's world rankings for the 158th week overall. It tied Ko with Mexican legend Lorena Ochoa for the most weeks spent at the top in LPGA history, a feat that Ko said has made her feel humble. Ko has a chance to own the record by herself at the season's second major tournament, the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey. "It'

GolfJune 22, 2023

World No. 1 Ko Jin-young eyes 3rd career LPGA major on historic course

Having reclaimed the top spot in the women's world golf rankings this spring, South Korean star Ko Jin-young will take aim at winning her third career LPGA major title this week on a famed track. The KPMG Women's PGA Championship, the second major tournament of the LPGA season, will tee off at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey, on Thursday (local time). Founded in 1895, Baltusrol has hosted the U.S. Women's Open twice, along with seven men's U.S. Opens and two me

GolfJune 21, 2023

National football team defender Kim Jin-su likely out 2 months with orbital fracture

Veteran South Korean left back Kim Jin-su will be sidelined for about two months after suffering an orbital fracture during a friendly match against El Salvador on Tuesday. Kim sustained the facial injury in an inadvertent collision with teammate Lee Jae-sung late in the first half at Daejeon World Cup Stadium in the central city of Daejeon. Kim briefly moved to the sidelines to get treatment and came back on, before being subbed out in the 58th minute. Kim's face was badly swollen by then,

SoccerJune 21, 2023

S. Korean intl. Cho Gue-sung itching for move to Europe

After basking in unexpected stardom on the heels of his breakout performance at the FIFA World Cup last fall, South Korean striker Cho Gue-sung fielded offers from European clubs for the winter transfer window. Cho ultimately stayed put with his domestic club, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. He wrapped up his first scoring title in the K League 1 in 2022, further cementing his status as the next big thing coming out of South Korea. By foregoing a chance to move to Europe while the iron was hot, Cho was

SoccerJune 21, 2023

Klinsmann sold on future of S. Korean football

While coaching the senior men's national football team for South Korea, Jurgen Klinsmann hasn't lost the sight of the pipeline that will be feeding him youthful talent in the near future. The German tactician doesn't just want to wait around for young athletes to develop, though. He wants to be involved in their progress. At a press conference Monday, the eve of South Korea's friendly against El Salvador in the central city of Daejeon, Klinsmann spoke of how "excited&quo

SoccerJune 20, 2023