Searching for a new nickname after purchasing a professional baseball club, South Korean retailer Shinsegae Group said Monday it has applied for a trademark on a name inspired by its home appliance shop. Shinsegae said it has sent in a trademark application for Electros, taken from its Electro Mart chain. Shinsegae acquired the SK Wyverns of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) in a surprise d...

The morning low temperature dipped to double digits below freezing in Seoul and some other regions of South Korea on Friday, a day after parts of the country were blanketed in snow. This could only mean one thing. It's time for baseball's spring training. The 10 clubs in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) will open their camps on Monday. The term "spring training" is almost a misnomer here, ...

South Korean retail giant Shinsegae Group said Tuesday it will acquire a professional baseball club owned by SK Group as it seeks to boost marketing with the sports team. E-Mart Inc., the country's biggest discount store chain run by Shinsegae, has agreed to buy the SK Wyverns of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) from SK Telecom Co., the country's largest mobile carrier, for 135.2 billion wo...

When it comes to playing for fans, Hong Won-ki, recently named the manager of the South Korean baseball club Kiwoom Heroes, doesn't want his players just to talk the talk. He'd like to see them walk the walk with their action on the field. Hong, who was promoted from bench coach to manager last Thursday, was formally introduced on Monday in a ceremony streamed on the club's YouTube channel. The ...

About two weeks before the start of spring training across the league, the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) has been rocked by its latest gambling scandal. The Doosan Bears on Tuesday asked the KBO to place two of their minor leaguers, pitcher Jeong Hyun-wook and catcher Kwon Ki-young, on the inactive list, for engaging in illegal betting activities. Once placed there, they must be reinstated ...

The 2020 South Korean baseball champions NC Dinos announced Monday they've signed former big league pitcher Wes Parsons. The Dinos said they signed the 28-year-old right-hander to a one-year deal worth up to US$600,000. He will make $320,000 in salary and $80,000 in signing bonus, and can earn up to $200,000 incentives. The Dinos have now completed their foreign player signings for 2021, having...

The South Korean baseball club Doosan Bears announced Friday they will bring back veteran shortstop Kim Jae-ho on a new three-year deal. The Korea Baseball Organization club said Kim has agreed to a three-year deal worth 2.5 billion won ($2.3 million). He'll make 1.6 billion won in salary and 900 million won in signing bonus. Kim, 35, became a free agent, for the second time, this winter. Afte...

The new head of South Korean professional baseball said Tuesday he will prioritize running a safe 2021 season during the coronavirus pandemic while also putting together an improved product on the field. Chung Ji-taik, a 70-year-old executive with the business conglomerate Doosan Group, was introduced as the 23rd commissioner of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) that day. In his inauguratio...

Once the South Korean star infielder Kim Ha-seong completes his reported move to the San Diego Padres, he will have to prove his considerable offensive talent and athleticism on defense will translate against hard-throwing big league arms. MLB.com and other US media reported Monday (local time) that Kim has agreed to a deal with the Padres. Financial terms of the contract, which is pending a phy...

With at least one major league offer in tow, the posted South Korean All-Star shortstop Kim Ha-seong departed for the United States on Monday with his deadline to land a big league deal fast approaching. A-Spec Corporation, the Seoul-based agency for the Kiwoom Heroes‘ slugger, confirmed an earlier report that Kim left for the US on Monday. Kim, a 25-year-old coming off his first 30-homer seaso...

The Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said Wednesday they have signed former major league hitter Jose Pirela. The team said the Venezuela-born Pirela signed a one-year deal worth up to $800,000, including a guaranteed salary of $500,000 and a signing bonus of $100,000. He can make up to $200,000 in incentives. Making his MLB debut with the New York Yankees in 2014, the 31-y...

South Korean major league pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin has been picked for an All-MLB Team for the second straight season. The Toronto Blue Jays' left-hander was one of five starting pitchers for the All-MLB Second Team, unveiled by Major League Baseball (MLB) on Wednesday (US time). On the strength of a third-place finish in the American League (AL) Cy Young Award voting, Ryu made the Second Team agai...

The 2020 regular season MVP in South Korean baseball is poised to pick up another piece of hardware this month. Mel Rojas Jr. of the KT Wiz has been nominated for the Golden Glove in the outfield category, the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced Wednesday. The slugging right fielder captured the MVP award on Monday in a landslide after leading the KBO in home runs, RBIs, slugging percen...

One of South Korea's premier sluggers will be knocking on the big league doors this winter. The Korea Baseball Organization announced Monday it has asked Major League Baseball to post NC Dinos outfielder Na Sung-bum for MLB's 30 clubs. The decision came after the Dinos requested the Korean league take that administrative step and give Na a chance to reach the big leagues. Under the posting syst...

The NC Dinos are one win away from capturing their first South Korean baseball championship. Starter Koo Chang-mo fired seven shutout innings, and cleanup Yang Eui-ji blasted a two-run home run in the bottom sixth, lifting the Dinos to a 5-0 victory in Game 5 of the Korean Series at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Monday. Yang's shot followed Aaron Altherr's tiebreaking RBI single in the fifth. Th...