When the South Korean football legend Hong Myung-bo met with his full squad for the first time as coach of Ulsan Hyundai FC on Monday, he didn't wax poetic on some trendy, modern strategies or formations. Instead, Hong placed his focus on the mental part of the game. "I spoke to the players about our three pillars for the upcoming season. They are: accountability, right attitude and happiness," Hong told reporters after his meeting with the players at the team's clubhouse in Ulsan, 4

TOKYO (AFP) -- Support for holding the coronavirus-postponed Tokyo Olympics this summer has hit a new low in Japan, a poll found Sunday as the country battles a third wave of infections. Just over 80 percent of those asked by Kyodo news agency said the huge global event should be cancelled or postponed again -- a jump from around 60 percent in a December 6 survey by the same outlet. Kyodo said the survey asked 1,041 participants nationwide, who were selected by random dialling. Tokyo 2020 org

  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. After debuting with the Bears in 2008, Kim first entered the open market in 2016 and re-signed wi

He has done it again. Son Heung-min scored in his second straight match, lifting Tottenham Hotspur into the English League Cup final with a 2-0 victory over Brentford on Tuesday (local time). After Moussa Sissoko opened the scoring in the 12th minute at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, Son doubled the lead with his 70th-minute strike against the second-division club. Tottenham will face the winner of the other semifinal match between Manchester United and Manchester City. The championship

When the foundation for esports in Korea was established in the early 2000 with the launch of a StarCraft league, esports remained far from being considered among “real sports.” Pro gamer as an occupation was a new concept, and player wages were not sufficient to make ends meet. In fact, pro gaming was not considered an actual career in the beginning, as players had to pay additional taxes because their earnings were considered unearned income. Perceptions about esports have changed

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 inauguration ceremony held at the KBO headquarters in Seoul, Chung said the KBO faces "a series of tasks&qu

FC Seoul finished in a disappointing ninth place among 12 clubs in the K League 1 in 2020, just a year after ranking in third place. And their new head coach, Park Jin-sup, is determined to take them back to the upper echelon, because that's where he thinks FC Seoul belong. "I think that is where we're supposed to be," Park told reporters Monday, before opening offseason camp at GS Champions Park, the club's training facility in Guri, just east of Seoul. "We have some veterans a

Son Heung-min has scored his 100th goal as a member of Tottenham Hotspur. The South Korean star reached the century mark in a 3-0 victory over Leeds United in a Premier League match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Saturday. The victory lifted Tottenham from seventh to third place in the league tables with 29 points. It was Tottenham's first win in five matches. Son's 43rd-minute goal, set up by Harry Kane, gave Tottenham a 2-0 lead. Son set up the third goal with a corner headed hom

South Korean LPGA star Ko Jin-young will finish the year where she started in the women's golf rankings: at the very top. Ko stayed at No. 1 in the final rankings of 2020 released Tuesday. She climbed to No. 1 in July 2019 and was also at the top in the first rankings this year on Jan. 7.Ko, the 2019 LPGA Player of the Year, played only four tournaments this season, which was cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. But the 25-year-old made the most of the opportunity, as she won the season-endin

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 physical, weren't immediately available.  Kim was posted for Major League Baseball (MLB) clubs on

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 season, was posted on Dec. 2. Under the terms of the posting agreement between the Korea Baseball O

League of Legends world champion Damwon Gaming continued its dominance, rolling over the other LoL Champions Korea teams in the Korea e-Sports Associations Cup held over the Christmas weekend. Damwon headed straight to the finals after sweeping the group stages 4-0 and dropping only one game to Hanwha Life Esports with Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon and Kim “Deft” Hyuk-gyu in the semifinals on Saturday to go 3-1. The KeSPA Cup is an annual tournament hosted by KeSPA in the off

CHUNCHEON -- Former World Cup star Lee Young-pyo will embark on a new career as an administrator. Gangwon FC of the K League 1 announced Tuesday that Lee, 43, will be their new CEO. He was nominated for the position on Dec. 8, and his candidacy was approved at a board meeting on Tuesday in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, 85 kilometers east of Seoul. Lee, a Gangwon native, was an integral member of the South Korean team that made a stunning run to the semifinals at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The for

World No. 1 Ko Jin-young has won the LPGA season finale in Florida, capping off a truncated campaign in come-from-behind fashion against a rival countrywoman. Ko won the CME Group Tour Championship by five strokes over world No. 2 Kim Sei-young and Hannah Green of Australia in Naples, Florida, on Sunday (local time). Ko shot a six-under 66 at Tiburon Golf Club for a four-round total of 18-under 270. By earning $1.1 million in her first victory of 2020, Ko won her second consecutive money title

South Korean Premier League star Son Heung-min has won a FIFA award for the best goal of the year, the world's football governing body said Friday. He became the second Asian player and the first in South Korea to win the award. At the annual Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony held online, Son's wonder goal for Tottenham Hotspur against Burnley in December last year was named the winner of the annual FIFA Puskas Award. Established in 2009 in honor of former Real Madrid striker Ferenc Puskas,