KBO All-Star Kim Hye-seong signs with Dodgers

South Korean All-Star infielder Kim Hye-seong has signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Kim's agency, Creative Artists Agency, said Saturday Kim agreed to a three-year deal worth $12.5 million, with an option for two more years that would give him a chance to make up to $22 million total. A CAA official said the Los Angeles Angels had offered Kim a five-year deal for $28 million, with the Seattle Mariners, the Chicago Cubs and the San Diego Padres also sending him offers. But Kim ultimately chose

Jan. 4, 2025

Goalkeeper Song Bum-keun rejoins old K League club

Goalkeeper Song Bum-keun has rejoined his former K League 1 club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors after two years in Japan. Jeonbuk announced Tuesday Song, 27, has signed on as a free agent after spending the past two seasons with Shonan Bellmare in Japan's J1 League. Song first played for Jeonbuk from 2018 to 2022, helping them to four consecutive K League 1 titles from 2018 to 2021 and to the Korea Cup title in 2020. Song won the 2018 Asian Games gold medal for the under-23 national team, and has logged

Dec. 31, 2024

3 S. Korean players to open new PGA Tour season in exclusive-field event

Three South Korean players will begin their new PGA Tour season in a limited-field tournament in Hawaii this week. An Byeong-hun, Im Sung-jae and Kim Si-woo will be part of a 60-player field at The Sentry, which will tee off Thursday at The Plantation Course at Kapalua in Lahaina, Hawaii. Only the tour winners and the top-50 players in the FedEx Cup standings are eligible for The Sentry. This year's field will feature 31 tournament winners and 29 players who earned their way by finishing inside

Dec. 31, 2024

FC Seoul sign veteran natl. team defender Kim Jin-su

FC Seoul announced their signing of longtime national team defender Kim Jin-su on Monday. FC Seoul said they will look to the 32-year-old left fullback to push the club to the next level in 2025, after a successful 2024 campaign. In 2024, FC Seoul finished in fourth place with 58 points, their best showing since finishing third with 56 points in 2019. They scored 55 and conceded 42, and their +13 goal difference was the third-best mark in the K League 1. Kim spent most of the previous eight seas

Dec. 30, 2024

Wolves' Hwang scores, Spurs' Son misses penalty in Premier League showdown

Hwang Hee-chan of Wolverhampton Wanderers has scored in his second straight match, while Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur missed a penalty in their first South Korean derby of this Premier League season. Hwang scored the first goal of the match that ended in a 2-2 draw at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Sunday, with both players getting the start -- Hwang as his team's striker and Son as left winger. This was Hwang's first Premier League start since Aug. 25. Hwang, who had scored his fi

Dec. 30, 2024

Sports ministry to request dismissal of badminton chief for 2nd time

The sports ministry announced Monday it will request the dismissal of the top badminton official for the second time, with the sport's national federation not having taken action despite the ministry's earlier demands. The ministry said in a statement that the Badminton Korea Association, led by Kim Taek-gyu, had carried out changes in 16 of the 25 areas as demanded by the ministry on Oct. 31. The BKA is still in the process of implementing changes in six areas, while its appeal for reconsiderat

Dec. 30, 2024

Korean Series champions Tigers sign ex-MLB slugger Patrick Wisdom

The 2024 South Korean baseball champions Kia Tigers finalized their signing of former major league slugger Patrick Wisdom on Thursday. The Tigers said Wisdom, a three-time 20-homer man for the Chicago Cubs, signed a one-year deal for $1 million, the maximum amount for all first-year foreign players in the Korea Baseball Organization. Wisdom will receive a guaranteed salary of $800,000 and a signing bonus of $200,000. The Tigers were first rumored to have signed the 33-year-old American player ab

Dec. 26, 2024

Controversy-ridden KFT chief vows to 'rebuild trust' for soccer federation, national team

Chung Mong-gyu, incumbent president of the Korea Football Association, officially announced his bid for a fourth term at the nation's top soccer governing body on Thursday while vowing to earn back the trust of Koreans toward the soccer federation. The 62-year-old said he would gladly accept criticism of irregularities in the KFA's operation during his tenure, adding he would work to rebuild public confidence in the federation and the national team. "As a person who worked hard wi

Dec. 19, 2024

S. Korea to host top East Asian football tournament in 2025

South Korea will host the top East Asian football tournament next summer, a decision reached during the executive meeting of the sport's regional governing body earlier this week. The East Asian Football Federation said Thursday that South Korea will stage the 2025 EAFF E-1 Championship from July 7 to 16 next year. The East Asian competition was first held in 2003, and South Korea previously hosted the event in 2005, 2013 and 2019. The country won the tournament in 2003, 2008, 2015, 2017 an

Dec. 19, 2024

One foreign player spot left in KBO after Dinos sign ex-MLB pitcher Allen

All but one spot have been filled for foreign players in the Korea Baseball Organization for 2025, following the NC Dinos' signing of former major league pitcher Logan Allen this week. The Dinos announced Wednesday that Allen, 27, had signed a one-year deal worth up to $1 million -- $560,000 in salary, $140,000 in a signing bonus and up to $300,000 in incentives. An eighth-round pick by the Boston Red Sox in 2015, Allen has 45 big league games under his belt with four clubs, including 22 wi

Dec. 19, 2024

South Korea’s curling dream slides off course

South Korea’s curling stadium in Gyeonggi Province, hailed as the largest in Asia, has been ruled unfit to host the 2025 World Women’s Curling Championship due to a seating capacity. The World Curling Federation has determined that the facility in Uijeongbu does not meet the requirements to host the international sports event, as it offers only 120 spectator seats. While the stadium impresses with its technical features, it falls far short of the 900 seats required for a world cham

Dec. 18, 2024

Badminton champion's plea for overhaul of old system voted top S. Korean sports story of 2024

Moments after winning her first Olympic gold medal in Paris on Aug. 5, South Korean badminton star An Se-young was not in the mood for celebration. In her media availability following her women's singles title, An criticized the Badminton Korea Association and the national team staff for mismanaging her injury from the previous year and accused them of a series of old practices and customs that she deemed unfair to athletes. An even hinted she would no longer compete for the national team a

Dec. 18, 2024

S. Korean teen sensation Yang Min-hyeok 'excited' to join captain Sonny at Tottenham

After taking the South Korean league by storm this year, the 18-year-old sensation Yang Min-hyeok left for London on Monday to join Tottenham Hotspur in the middle of their season. Yang will also get to meet Spurs' South Korean-born captain Son Heung-min, 14 years his senior and a living legend from whom Yang wants to learn as he embarks on his own Premier League career. "I am excited to be joining the club. It would be an honor to play with Son and I would be grateful for that opportu

Dec. 16, 2024

Son Heung-min becomes Tottenham's all-time Premier League assists leader

With two helpers in his latest match, Son Heung-min has become Tottenham Hotspur's all-time leader in assists in Premier League play. Son scored a goal and set up two others in Tottenham's 5-0 rout of Southampton at St. Mary's Stadium in Southampton, England, on Sunday (local time). The captain of Spurs scored the 2-0 goal in the 12th minute and then assisted Pape Sarr's goal in the 25th minute that put Tottenham up 4-0. Son then had his second assist of the match on James Ma

Dec. 16, 2024

S. Koreans miss out on qualification for LIV Golf

Former South Korean tour money winner Lee Soo-min tied for eighth in the qualifying tournament for the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf, missing out on direct qualification for the lucrative circuit. Lee finished the four-round LIV Golf Promotions at three-under 281 to tie for eighth place, after shooting a one-over 72 at Riyadh Golf Club in Riyadh on Saturday. Golfers played 36 holes on Saturday. Lee had been tied for third at four-under after carding a 67 in the third round, three shots off the le

Dec. 15, 2024