The list of South Korean baseball managers unhappy with a compressed schedule for this season is growing. Son Hyuk of the Kiwoom Heroes has joined four other skippers in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) in criticizing the league office for forging ahead with the usual, 144-game schedule, despite the delayed start to the season. The 2020 Opening Day had been set for March 28, but the coronavirus outbreak forced the KBO to postpone it to next Tuesday. The KBO and its board of governors --

The US sports media giant ESPN is nearing a deal to broadcast South Korean baseball games to its American audience this season, an industry source told Yonhap News Agency on Monday. The source, who requested anonymity because the deal wasn't finalized as of Monday afternoon, said ESPN could air multiple Korea Baseball Organization games per week. The exact duration of the deal and proposed financial terms weren't immediately clear. The KBO's regular season will begin on May 5, pushed back by m

The South Korean football league said Monday all players and coaches on its 22 teams across two divisions will be tested for the coronavirus before the start of their seasons next month. The Korea Professional Football League (K League) said the 12 teams in the first-division K League 1 and 10 clubs in the K League 2 will be subject to testing, prior to the May 8 kickoff. The 2020 season was slated to begin on Feb. 29, but the coronavirus pandemic forced the league to postpone the start. Last

With the start of the new season around the corner, the South Korean football league said Monday it has sold broadcasting rights to 10 countries this year, mostly in Asia and Europe. The Korea Professional Football League (K League) added that its international rights holder, Sportsradar AG, has been fielding more inquiries from other countries since announcing its new kickoff date last week. The K League said last Friday its 2020 season, in both the top-flight K League 1 and second-tier K Le

South Korean Olympic athletes set to resume training next month will be tested for the coronavirus before their return to the national facilities, officials said Monday. The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) said the first batch of athletes and coaches to reenter the Jincheon National Training Center next month will undergo COVID-19 tests from May 11-13 at four designated hospitals. Those hospitals are located in Seoul and near Jincheon, 90 kilometers south of the capital. Athletes

After more than two months of delay caused by the coronavirus outbreak, the South Korean men's professional football season will kick off on May 8. The Korea Professional Football League (K League) announced Friday that its top-flight K League 1 and the second-tier K League 2 will both begin their 2020 season on May 8. The official opening match will have three-time defending champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors host Suwon Samsung Bluewings at Jeonju World Cup Stadium in Jeonju, 240 kilometers so

The Korean soccer league will meet with club officials Friday to determine the new kickoff date for the season delayed by the novel coronavirus pandemic. The K League said Wednesday that its board meeting with club executives will take place at 2 p.m. Friday at the Korea Football Association House in Seoul. There are 12 teams in the top-flight K League 1 and 10 clubs in K League 2. Their season was slated to kick off on Feb. 29, but the league postponed it indefinitely five days prior due to

The Korea Baseball Organization announced Tuesday that the 2020 regular season will kick off on May 5, which is also the Children’s Day holiday. The season was postponed from its regular start date of March 28 due to the coronavirus pandemic.  Four exhibition games are to be played for the preseason, one of which started Tuesday and the last to be wrapped up Monday. All exhibition games and early regular season games will be played without fans, amid concerns over the spread of t

The number of new coronavirus cases in South Korea has been in decline for the past several days. But in setting the new schedule for the 2020 season, the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) was not taking any chances. The KBO announced Tuesday the new season will begin on May 5. The original Opening Day was March 28, but the league had to postpone it due to the coronavirus outbreak. Encouraged by signs of improvement on the quarantine front, the KBO had hoped to open the season as early as May

Baseball will be back in South Korea on May 5. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced Tuesday that the 2020 regular season, postponed from its March 28 start date due to the coronavirus outbreak, will begin May 5, which is also the Children's Day holiday. The decision was reached at the league's meeting with its board of governors, made up of presidents from the league's 10 clubs. In preparation for the regular season, teams will play exhibition games starting Tuesday. They were init

Starting Tuesday, South Korean professional football clubs will be allowed to play practice matches against one another, as their league inches closer to opening the season that has been delayed for nearly two months by the coronavirus.    The Korean Professional Football League, or simply the K League, made the announcement Monday evening. With such short notice, clubs may not be able to play a match immediately on Tuesday, but there will likely be a few later in the week.  &nb

Heo Hoon, the second son of the South Korean hoops legend Hur Jae, was named the most valuable player (MVP) in the men's pro basketball league Monday. The third-year guard for the KT Sonicboom in the Korean Basketball League (KBL) earned his first regular season MVP honor, collecting 63 out of 111 votes from the media. DB Promy center Kim Jong-kyu had 47 votes. Heo, the first overall pick at the 2017 draft, led the KBL with 7.2 assists per game, and ranked second among South Korean-born playe

Tottenham Hotspur's South Korean star Son Heung-min reported to a Marine Corps unit on Monday to begin his three-week military training on the southern island of Jeju. Son will be in camp until May 8, fulfilling requirements of the military service exemption he earned by winning the men's football gold medal for South Korea at the 2018 Asian Games. Able-bodied South Korean men must serve about two years in the armed forces. But Son only needs to complete basic training and 544 hours of commun

It's time to play ball in South Korea -- some preseason ball, that is. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) will open a truncated exhibition season Tuesday, with its 10 clubs scheduled to play four games each through April 27. The coronavirus outbreak forced the KBO to wipe out its original, March 14-24 preseason and also postpone its March 28 Opening Day. But a recent decline in new COVID-19 cases has allowed the league to reschedule its preseason, and it's expected to announce the new regu

A recent decline in coronavirus cases, plus the government's subsequent easing of social distancing guidelines, have opened doors for the country's two biggest professional sports leagues to begin long-awaited seasons next month. South Korea reported eight new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, the first time in two months that the daily figure stayed in a single digit. Later in the day, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said "outdoor sports games" could be held if proper safety measures are