With a spike in local infections of the novel coronavirus, the South Korean football league will not be able to reopen its stadiums on July 10 as it had hoped, a league official said Thursday. The 2020 K League season kicked off on May 8 without spectators, due to COVID-19 infection concerns. And following the government's announcement last Sunday that pro sports stadiums could open their doors again under strict quarantine and preventive measures, the K League had set July 10 as the target fo

South Korean football title hopefuls Ulsan Hyundai FC announced Wednesday they've acquired veteran fullback Hong Chul. The K League 1 club signed the South Korean international from Suwon Samsung Bluewings for an undisclosed transfer fee. The 29-year-old left fullback has played in 272 K League matches since making his debut with Seongnam Ilhwa Chunam (currently Seongnam FC) in 2010. He has earned 30 caps with the senior national team and represented the country at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. H

The South Korean football league is hoping to have fans back in the stands by July 10 at the earliest, a league official said Tuesday. The Korea Professional Football League (K League) said the match between Busan IPark and FC Seoul in the top-flight K League 1 will likely be the first contest of the season played before fans. It will kick off at 7:30 p.m. at Busan Gudeok Stadium in Busan, 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul. Football and baseball are the two major professional sports being pl

As it prepares to reopen ballparks to fans during the coronavirus pandemic, the South Korean baseball league is contemplating installing an electronic entry registration system at stadiums based on quick response (QR) code. Ryu Dae-hwan, secretary general of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), told Yonhap News Agency Tuesday that QR code is being considered as part of the league's measures to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus and to expedite contact tracing in case of positive tes

When fans return to baseball stadiums sometime in July, they will be asked to sit apart from one another to maintain a safe distance. And they'll not be allowed to bring in any outside food. This will be part of a new normal in fan experience in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) during the coronavirus pandemic. The KBO released a new health and safety manual for fans Tuesday, as it prepares to swing open gates to baseball enthusiasts. The 2020 season opened on May 5 without fans in the s

Incheon United, the last-place club in the top division South Korean football league, will not bring back their cancer-stricken former head coach Yoo Sang-chul after all. Team officials said Tuesday that Yoo, who left the bench in January to continue his battle with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, has been told by his doctors that it'd be too much of a health risk for Yoo to return as head coach. The club had confirmed reports Monday that Yoo had approached Incheon's senior executives and expresse

When the dust settled after the weekend, there were no changes at the top and the bottom of the table in South Korean football. Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors blanked Ulsan Hyundai FC 2-0 on Sunday in a battle of the two best clubs in the K League 1. Jeonbuk extended their lead over Ulsan to 24-20, while handing their rivals their first loss of the season. At the opposite end, Incheon United suffered their seventh consecutive loss on Saturday, falling to FC Seoul 1-0. With two draws and seven losses,

A South Korean baseball player was suspended indefinitely by his team on Friday over allegations that he sexually harassed a minor. The Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said catcher Ji Seong-jun has been removed from the team's roster and they have reported the case to the league office. Ji, who has bounced between the KBO and its minor league, Futures League, in 2020, will remain suspended until the KBO determines its potential discipline against him. The accuser claimed

INCHEON -- A South Korean baseball club manager fell unconscious in the middle of a game Thursday and was taken away in an ambulance. Youm Kyoung-youb, manager for the SK Wvyerns in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), collapsed in his dugout at SK Happy Dream Park in Incheon, some 40 kilometers west of Seoul, after the top of the second inning against the Doosan Bears. The 52-year-old was immediately transported to a local hospital. The Wyverns later said Youm regained consciousness inside

South Korean pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin isn't among multiple members of the Toronto Blue Jays who have reportedly tested positive for the novel coronavirus, a source close to the player said Thursday. The source said Ryu has been tested twice for COVID-19, and both results came back negative. "He's training without any trouble," the source told Yonhap News Agency. "Though he doesn't know where the season will start, he's trying to stay positive." After months of delay caused by

South Korea will host a pre-qualification round for the 2022 Winter Olympic women's hockey tournament, the sport's national governing body announced Wednesday. The Korea Ice Hockey Association (KIHA) said the second pre-qualifying round will run from Feb. 11 to 14 in 2021 in Gangneung, some 230 kilometers east of Seoul. Gangneung hosted all men's and women's hockey games during the 2018 Winter Olympics. The second pre-qualifying round will feature three groups of four teams. South Korea will

An official practice round for a South Korean women's golf tournament was canceled on Wednesday after the event organizers learned that a recent visitor to the competition venue tested positive for the novel coronavirus, though the actual tournament will begin as scheduled on Thursday. The Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour announced on Wednesday that the practice round for the BC Card Hankyung Ladies Cup at the Fortune Hills Country Club in Pocheon, some 45 kilometers nor

Tampa Bay Rays' South Korean first baseman Choi Ji-man, who has been training in his home country since April, left for the United States Tuesday to rejoin his club. A source close to Choi said Tuesday the player will continue to work out on his own until there's more clarity regarding the start of the 2020 Major League Baseball (MLB) season. When the coronavirus pandemic put the start of the season on indefinite hold, Choi came home on March 24. Following a two-week quarantine, Choi started

Contrite over his past drunk driving arrests, former major leaguer Kang Jung-ho apologized for his actions Tuesday in his bid for a return to the South Korean league. "I know that no word can ever wash away the things I did, and I deeply regret my wrongdoing," Kang said at the start of a press conference at a Seoul hotel. It was his first public appearance since returning from the United States on June 5. He spent the next 14 days in government-mandated quarantine amid the coronaviru

League of Legends Champions Korea’s 2020 summer season kicked off Wednesday, to the joy of many fans watching from home. Although the seats were empty in the LoL Park Arena in Jongno, Seoul, to prevent the spread of COVID-19, thousands of fans watched the opening games online. Although they felt bad about having no audience, players expressed joy at being able to play at the LoL Park Arena again after COVID-19 forced them to play in team facilities for the second half of the spring seas