Sep 20, 2017   More sports

[Advertorial] South Korean horse racing: the wacky and the wonderful

With an annual turnover of $6 billion, South Korea is becoming a major player in thoroughbred horse racing. The Korea Racing Authority (KRA) have a plan to turn the Korea Cup and Korea Sprint from international grade three races to grade one races.Light show scene at night with illuminated horses and heart installations with lit up trees in backgroundInternationalization is already happening, with Korean horses taking part in races abroad. But internationalization of Korean horse racing is not a

Sep 20, 2017   Soccer

Natl. football federation likely to discuss Hiddink issue next week

South Korea's football governing body is likely to discuss Guus Hiddink's role for the men's national team next week, an official said Wednesday, after the Dutch tactician expressed his intention to help the Taeguk Warriors.The official with the Korea Football Association said its technical committee will hold a meeting next week. Although the committee has set up the meeting ostensibly to go over the national team's last two World Cup qualifying matches against Iran and Uzbekistan, Hiddink's po

Sep 20, 2017   Soccer

Swansea City's Ki Sung-yueng set for comeback

South Korean midfielder Ki Sung-yueng is set to make his comeback in the near future after completing his rehabilitation process, a source close to the player said Wednesday.The source in Seoul said Ki is likely to make his return for Swansea City next week as he is now able to fully join the English Premier League club's training. The development raises hope for the national team preparing for the 2018 FIFA World Cup."Ki has completed his rehab and has been participating in full training starti

Sep 20, 2017   Baseball

Schedules announced for baseball postseason

Schedules for South Korean baseball's postseason were announced on Wednesday.The wild card game between the fourth- and fifth-ranked teams at 2 p.m. on Oct. 5 will launch the postseason play, the Korea Baseball Organization said. The 144-game regular season is scheduled to finish on Oct. 3.The fourth seed will be the host, and it can advance to the first round of the playoffs either with a victory or a tie in the first game. If the fifth seed wins the first wild card game, then there will be a s

Sep 20, 2017   Soccer

Beckham says Korean natl. team will improve

David Beckham said Wednesday he thinks the South Korean national football team will overcome difficult situations and become a better team, emphasizing that all teams and players go through adversity.The 42-year-old retired football star from Britain visited South Korea as a global ambassador for AIA, the pan-Asian insurance group, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary in the country, to talk about healthy lifestyle and promote the company's new campaign "What's Your Why?"During a press conf

Sep 20, 2017   Golf

Latest PGA playoff winner to compete in Korea next month

The latest FedEx Cup playoff winner will compete in the first PGA Tour event in South Korea next month, the organizers said Wednesday.Marc Leishman, who captured last week's BMW Championship, has committed to the CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges, which will be played from Oct. 19-22 at the Club at Nine Bridges on Jeju Island.CJ Group said it will be Leishman's first appearance in South Korea since competing for the International Team at the 2015 Presidents Cup in Incheon. This promotional poster of the CJ

Sep 20, 2017   Baseball

In absence, Pirates' Kang Jung-ho misses camaraderie with teammates

GWANGJU  -- On the Pittsburgh Pirates' roster this season, South Korean third baseman Kang Jung-ho has been conspicuous by his absence.The 30-year-old hasn't been able to secure his US work permit this year after his drunk driving conviction. He had his third impaired driving arrest in South Korea last December, and got an eight-month jail term, suspended for two years, in March. He lost his appeal two months later and his big league career remains in limbo sans visa.Sitting out the entire seaso

Sep 19, 2017   Soccer

Korean midfielder set to join UAE's Al Ahli

South Korean midfielder Kim Young-wook is set to sign with United Arab Emirates football club Shabab Al Ahli Dubai, officials from his current club said Tuesday. K League Classic team Jeonnam Dragons said they're pushing for Kim's move to Al Ahli, and the player will soon fly to Dubai for a medical. The Arabian Gulf League, the UAE's top league, started its new season last weekend, and the player registration deadline is the second week of October.  In this file photo taken Feb. 23, 2017, Jeonna

Sep 18, 2017   More sports

Korean short trackers to focus on process in Olympic season

Entering the Olympic season in a few days, South Korean short track speed skaters said Monday they'll focus more on the process than the end results.The national team skaters will compete at the 2017-2018 International Skating Union World Cup Short Track Speed Skating season starting Sept. 28 in Budapest, Hungary. Three more World Cups will take place in Dordrecht in the Netherlands, Shanghai and Seoul through mid-November, collectively serving as a prelude to the PyeongChang Winter Games next F

Sep 18, 2017   More sports

Young short tracker 'nervous' before intl. debut

Days from his senior international debut, South Korean short track speed skater Lim Hyo-jun said Monday he's got butterflies in his stomach.In April, the 21-year-old stunned former Olympic gold medalists and world champions to earn a spot on the national team for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. In tune-ups for the Olympics on home ice, Lim will compete in the International Skating Union World Cup Short Track Speed Skating season.The first leg will open in Budapest, Hungary, on Sept. 28. So

Sep 18, 2017   Soccer

Venue confirmed for Korea's football friendly vs. Russia

South Korea will play against the 2018 FIFA World Cup hosts Russia at a multi-use stadium in Moscow next month, the national football governing body said Monday.The Korea Football Association said the match will kick off at 5 p.m. on Oct. 7 local time (or 11 p.m. in Seoul) at the 30,000-seat VEB Arena, home of PFC CSKA Moscow.The KFA earlier this month announced that South Korea will take on Russia for their 2018 World Cup preparations. The showdown in Moscow is the first friendly since South Ko

Sep 18, 2017   Baseball

Dodgers' Ryu Hyun-jin pulled in 5th vs. Nationals in another no-decision

Ryu Hyun-jin of the Los Angeles Dodgers has picked up another no-decision despite a solid outing, getting pulled just one out shy of qualifying for a win.The South Korean left-hander tossed 4 2/3 scoreless innings against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park in Washington on Sunday (local time). He cruised through four innings, but nursing a 1-0 lead with two outs in the bottom fifth, Ryu walked the final two batters he faced before Ross Stripling came in to clean up the mess.Stripling esc

Sep 18, 2017   More sports

French Open champ says world No. 1 open to any top-10 tennis player

The reigning French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko said Monday she thinks the No. 1 ranking in women's tennis is open to any top-10 player in the world, saying youngsters, including herself, will emerge as powerhouses.Ostapenko, currently world No. 10, came to South Korea last Friday to compete at the KEB HanaBank Incheon Airport Korea Open, the country's only Women's Tennis Association Tour event, which starts at Olympic Park in Seoul on Monday. She is the top-seeded player of the tournament an

Sep 18, 2017   Soccer

7 out of 10 Koreans say natl. football team needs Hiddink

More than 70 percent of South Koreans believe the men's national football team needs to hire Dutch tactician Guus Hiddink for the FIFA World Cup next year, a survey showed Monday.In the survey of 505 adults conducted by Realmeter nationwide last week, 70.2 percent said that Hiddink should be given a job, whether as a coach or a technical advisor, within the national football team for the World Cup in Russia. Hiddink previously guided South Korea to the 2002 World Cup semifinals.The survey was co