Sonny seeking redemption with Spurs; Kim Min-jae, Lee Kang-in looking to make mark on new clubs

Former Golden Boot winner Son Heung-min will try to redeem himself in the new Premier League season kicking off on the weekend, while a pair of other South Korean stars will look to make their mark on their new clubs in new leagues. Son and Tottenham Hotspur will open the 2023-2024 season at Brentford at 2 p.m. Sunday, or 10 p.m. Sunday in Seoul time. After winning the Premier League scoring title with a career-best 23 goals in the 2021-2022 season for Tottenham Hotspur, Son slumped to 10 goals

Aug. 11, 2023

K League suspends Suwon FC forward Lars Veldwijk for 15 matches over DUI charge

The Korea Professional Football League suspended Suwon FC forward Lars Veldwijk for 15 games Thursday, three days after the Dutch player was caught driving under the influence of alcohol. The K League also slapped Veldwijk with a fine of 4 million won ($3,045). Suwon FC have 13 matches remaining this season. The league's decision rules Veldwijk out for the rest of this season and two more matches next season. Veldwijk was nabbed in Seoul's Gangnam district Monday and was charged with d

Aug. 10, 2023

Football tournament match postponed due to approaching typhoon

A knockout match at the largest national football tournament was postponed Wednesday due to effects of the approaching Typhoon Khanun. The Korea Football Association (KFA) scrapped the FA Cup semifinal match between Jeju United and Pohang Steelers, scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. on Jeju Island. The decision was reached about half an hour prior to the scheduled start. The KFA and Jeju United cited rapidly-changing weather conditions, caused by Typhoon Khanun on its way to the Korean Peninsu

Aug. 9, 2023

FC Seoul's Na Sang-ho voted K League's top player for July

FC Seoul forward Na Sang-ho on Tuesday was named the top player in South Korean soccer for July, his second monthly award this season. The Korea Professional Football League said Na beat out three candidates for the Player of the Month honor for July. He scored three goals and recorded one assist in five matches last month. Na was also voted the top player for April. He is now the fourth K League player to capture multiple Player of the Month awards in the same season, and the first South Korean

Aug. 8, 2023

[Graphic News] S. Korea to face Bahrain, Thailand, Kuwait in Asian Games soccer tourney

In pursuit of their third-straight gold medal, South Korea will face Bahrain, Thailand and Kuwait in the group stage of the Asian Games men’s soccer tournament this fall. The draw for the competition took place in the Asian Games host city of Hangzhou, China, Feb. 27. South Korea ended up in Group E with the three other countries. The participating 23 nations will be divided into six groups. Groups A, B, C, E and F will have four teams each, while Group D will have three teams. The top two

Aug. 4, 2023

K League champions Ulsan give head coach Hong Myung-bo 3-year extension

Reigning South Korean football champions Ulsan Hyundai FC announced Wednesday they have extended head coach Hong Myung-bo for three more years. The new deal will keep Hong on the bench through the 2026 season. Hong, former head coach of the South Korean men's national team, took Ulsan's reins before the 2021 season and led them to the K League 1 title in 2022, their first league championship in 17 years. They appear well on their way to a second straight title. Through 24 matches, with

Aug. 2, 2023

New PSG midfielder Lee Kang-in set to play before home fans in preseason action

South Korean midfielder Lee Kang-in is set to put on a show in front of home fans for his new French club this week. Lee and the reigning French league champions Paris Saint-Germain will take on nine-time K League 1 champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors at 5 p.m. Thursday at Busan Asiad Main Stadium in the southeastern city of Busan. Lee's most recent match in his home country took place at the same venue on June 16, when the 22-year-old competed for South Korea against Peru in a friendly match.

Aug. 1, 2023

S. Korea fall to Morocco at Women's World Cup, knockout hopes hang in balance

ADELAIDE, Australia -- South Korea lost to Morocco 1-0 for their second straight defeat at the FIFA Women's World Cup on Sunday, leaving their knockout hopes hanging by a thread. Ibtissam Jraidi scored the match's lone goal in the sixth minute in the teams' second Group H match at Hindmarsh Stadium in Adelaide, southern Australia, giving Morocco their first Women's World Cup goal and also their first win. South Korea will close out group play in a must-win match against world

July 30, 2023

Tuchel hails 'very complete' Kim Min-jae

TOKYO -- Thomas Tuchel praised new Bayern Munich signing Kim Min-jae as "very complete" on Tuesday, but said he is likely to sit out the German champions' first match of a pre-season tour of Japan. The South Korean joined Bayern last week, after winning Serie A last season with Napoli. "He played an outstanding season in Italy and in the Champions League," his new coach told reporters in Tokyo. "He was very reliable, very strong defence, good build-up play. Very com

July 25, 2023

Adidas rolls out limited edition Son Heung-min football cleats

Adidas launched limited edition soccer cleats dedicated to Tottenham’s Son Heung-min on Tuesday, to commemorate 15 years of sponsorship. The Son Heung-min edition, called the HMS Pack, is available at the official online stores, the Adidas flagship store in Myeong-dong, Gangnam Brand Center, Hongdae Brand Center and soccer gear stores. The HMS Pack comes in three models. The laceless FG model is priced at 319,000 won ($252), TF models for male adults at 129,000 won, and TF J models for wom

July 19, 2023

S. Korean defender Kim Min-jae joins German champions Bayern Munich

South Korean defender Kim Min-jae has joined German football giants Bayern Munich, a move that ends weeks of speculation on the next destination for the gifted center-back. Bayern Munich announced Tuesday that they have signed Kim away from Serie A champions Napoli to a five-year contract. Kim will wear No. 3. Bayern Munich will be Kim's fourth club in four seasons. After ending a three-year stint with Beijing Guoan in 2021, Kim moved to Turkiye to play for Fenerbahce in the 2021-2022 seaso

July 19, 2023

Defender dropped from Asiad men's football team over past DUI conviction

Under mounting criticism, the South Korean football governing body decided on Tuesday to drop defender Lee Sang-min from the men's Asian Games squad over his past drunk driving conviction. The Korea Football Association acknowledged and apologized for its oversight in selecting Lee in the first place last Friday against its own set of rules. Lee was arrested after driving under the influence of alcohol in May 2020 while playing for Chungnam Asan in the second-tier K League 2. Three months l

July 18, 2023

Ulsan's rare losing skid gives K League rivals glimmer of hope

For the first time in nearly three years, Ulsan Hyundai FC have lost back-to-back matches in the K League 1. That has given rivals of the league-leading club a glimmer of hope. Ulsan suffered a 3-1 loss to the last-place Suwon Samsung Bluewings on Saturday, three days after falling to Incheon United 2-1. This is Ulsan's first losing streak since October 2020. Through Sunday's play, Ulsan remained atop the league tables with 53 points on 17 wins, two draws and four losses. Pohang Steele

July 17, 2023

Montenegrin striker Mugosa rejoins Incheon United after 1 season in Japan

Montenegrin striker Stefan Mugosa has reunited with the South Korean club Incheon United, following one unsuccessful year in Japan. Incheon announced late Monday that Mugosa had agreed to a new deal that will keep him in the K League 1 until 2025, after he terminated his previous deal with the Japanese club Vissel Kobe. The club livestreamed Mugosa's arrival at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on its YouTube channel Monday evening, showing Mugosa taking off his polo shirt to re

July 11, 2023

S. Korean team heads to Australia for Women's World Cup

South Korea embarked on a journey to Australia on Monday to prepare for the FIFA Women's World Cup, looking for their second trip to the knockout stage in their fourth appearance at the big event. Coached by Colin Bell, 17th-ranked South Korea will play out of Group H. Their first match is July 25 against No. 25 Colombia, followed by No. 72 Morocco on July 30 and then No. 2 Germany on Aug. 3. "Everyone on the team is looking forward to the World Cup," Bell told reporters at Incheo

July 10, 2023

French champions PSG, Lee Kang-in to play exhibition match in S. Korea

The French football champions Paris Saint-Germain, with South Korean midfielder Lee Kang-in in tow, are set to play a summer exhibition match in Lee's native land next month, industry sources said Monday. PSG will take on K League 1 club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on Aug. 3 in Busan, 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to the sources. South Korean streaming service Coupang Play will organize the match, which has been scheduled following PSG's acquisition of Lee over the weekend. C

July 10, 2023

Lee Kang-in signs with PSG; Kim Min-jae ‘nears deal’ with Bayern

South Korean midfielder Lee Kang-in finalized a deal to play for Paris Saint-Germain through 2028, according to the French team’s website on Sunday, while his compatriot Kim Min-jae is reportedly inching to closing a deal with Bayern Munich. The 22-year-old Lee will become the first South Korean to officially don the PSG uniform in the coming season, after playing two seasons for Mallorca in the Spanish League. “It’s incredible to be able to join Paris Saint-Germain, it’s

July 9, 2023

Women's World Cup-bound half-Korean 'proud and honored'

As the first player of mixed heritage to be named to the South Korean women's senior national football team, Casey Phair said Wednesday she was "honored" with the opportunity to represent the country of her mother's birth. "I feel really proud and honored to be given this opportunity," she told reporters at the National Football Center in Paju, 40 kilometers northwest of Seoul, moments after head coach Colin Bell named her as one of 23 players for the FIFA Women

July 5, 2023

Half-Korean teenager Casey Phair named to S. Korean Women's World Cup team

Casey Phair, a half-Korean teenage forward, was named to the South Korean national football team for the upcoming FIFA Women's World Cup on Wednesday. At the National Football Center in Paju, some 40 kilometers northwest of Seoul, head coach Colin Bell unveiled his 23-player roster for the July 20-Aug. 20 tournament, co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, along with two reserves. Phair, born to an American father and a Korean mother in the United States, is the first player of mixed descen

July 5, 2023

Celtic FC withdraw from S. Korean summer trip

The Scottish football champions Celtic FC have withdrawn from their planned summer trip to South Korea, citing the local promoter's failure to meet financial commitments. Celtic made the announcement on their website Tuesday. Featuring South Korean forward Oh Hyeon-gyu, Celtic had been scheduled to play the Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers, which employ another South Korean international, Hwang Hee-chan, later this month. However, Wolves first pulled out of the summer tour last T

July 5, 2023