South Korean men's national football head coach Shin Tae-yong has enough trust in his players that banning smartphones entirely during the upcoming FIFA World Cup will not be necessary.But the bench boss does plan to attach one condition to their phone use: no social media.During a press conference at the Korea Football Association headquarters in Seoul on Wednesday, Shin said he has "never once thought about banning cell phones" because his players are "all grown-ups." South Korean men`s nation

South Korea men's football head coach Shin Tae-yong on Wednesday ruled veteran striker Lee Dong-gook out of this year's FIFA World Cup.At a press conference at the Korea Football Association headquarters, Shin said Lee, 39, had already offered to step aside for younger players at the upcoming tournament in Russia."He's still playing at a high level despite his age," Shin said of the all-time leading scorer in domestic K League history with 207 goals. "But Lee has already told me that he should t

Toronto Blue Jays' South Korean reliever Oh Seung-hwan has bounced back from a tough outing with a perfect inning in relief.Oh struck out two in a clean sixth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field in Minneapolis on Tuesday (local time), as the Jays went on to win 7-4 in 10 innings. This was Oh's second perfect outing in 14 appearances this year.The right-hander lowered his ERA from 2.38 to 2.19. In his previous appearance against the Texas Rangers last Saturday, Oh gave up a solo ho

The South Korean national table tennis federation said Wednesday it will begin discussions on forming a joint team with North Korea at this year's Asian Games.The Korea Table Tennis Association will convene its performance improvement committee meeting in Halmstad, Sweden, sometime this week. The KTTA explained that most of its executives are currently in the Swedish city to attend the World Team Table Tennis Championships. They also participated in Tuesday's International Table Tennis Federatio

The South Korean canoe governing body said Monday it will look to team up with North Korea at this year's Asian Games in Indonesia.The Korean Canoe Federation said it will try to form a unified Korean team in the traditional boat race, commonly known as a dragon boat race, which will be one of three canoe disciplines at the Aug. 18-Sept. 2 Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia.The federation noted that both Koreas can start from scratch, since they don't have any full-time dragon boat

South Korean football chief Chung Mong-gyu said Wednesday he hopes the upcoming inter-Korean summit can open door to greater football exchange with North Koreans. Chung, who leads the Korea Football Association, said he wants see inter-Korean football exchange growing after the South-North summit, which will take place on Friday on the south side of the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom. "We've yet to talk details in (football exchanges) with North Koreans," Chung told reporters at a speci

outh Korea football coach Shin Tae-yong said Wednesday his team's preparations for the 2018 FIFA World Cup are on track.South Korea will meet Germany, Sweden and Mexico in Group F at the World Cup in Russia, which is only about 50 days away. Shin admitted that they're the underdogs but will not give up easily."Frankly, none of the teams are easy for us," Shin told reporters at an event at the Russian Embassy in Seoul. "But if we prepare hard, we can play a good game. We're currently trying to fi

Olympic swimming champion Park Tae-hwan returned home from his Australian training camp on Tuesday to compete for a spot on the national team.Park spent the past three months training in Sydney. He's back home for the national trials that start Friday in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul.The trials, Park's first competition of the season, will determine who will represent the country at the Aug. 18-Sept. 2 Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia.Park is scheduled to enter freestyle

South Korean LPGA star Park In-bee has officially reclaimed the No. 1 spot in the women's world rankings.Park jumped two spots to No. 1 in the latest rankings announced Monday (US Eastern Standard Time). Park previously spent 92 weeks as world No. 1 during three different stretches between 2013 and 2015, and last held that spot Oct. 19, 2015. She was ranked 13th on Jan. 1 this year.Park's climb back to the top had been projected by the LPGA Tour immediately after her runner-up finish at the Huge

´South Korean LPGA star Park In-bee will reclaim the No. 1 ranking in women's golf following a runner-up finish at her latest event, the LPGA Tour said.Park finished tied for second at the Hugel-JTBC LA Open at Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles on Sunday (local time), but it will be good enough to lift the world No. 3 past current Nos. 1 and 2, Feng Shanshan and Lexi Thompson, to the top of the new rankings when they're announced Monday.Park In-bee of South Korea watches her tee shot on the f

Los Angeles Dodgers' South Korean starting pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin has won his third consecutive start with yet another gem in what's shaping up to be a fine season.Ryu held the Washington Nationals scoreless on two singles over a season-high seven innings at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Saturday (local time), striking out eight and walking three as the Dodgers took the game 4-0.After outdueling Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg, Ryu improved to 3-0 and lowered his ERA from 2.87 to 1.99. He leads

South Korea's under-19 national football team lost 4-1 to Mexico in an international tournament at home on Friday.South Korea's second match at the 2018 Suwon JS Cup ended in defeat after they went down to 10 players at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. U-19 football tournament (Yonhap)The JS Cup is an international men's U-19 football tournament that features four nations. This year's competition pits South Korea against Morocco, Mexico and Vietnam. This invitational tourname

South Korea's pro football governing body on Friday approved a rule on fine dust to protect the players and fans from bad air quality.The K League said its board members approved a rule that allow match officials to cancel matches when fine dust advisories are issued. According to the rule, if fine dust advisories are issued in between three hours prior to the match starting time and the match end time, the match commissioner can call off or postpone the match.In South Korea, a fine dust warning

The nation's top baseball league said Thursday it will open disciplinary proceedings against a club over its sign stealing attempt.The Korea Baseball Organization said it will convene a disciplinary committee meeting, on a date to be determined later, to discuss the LG Twins' admission Wednesday that they tried to steal pitching signs.They got into hot water after Wednesday's road game against the Kia Tigers at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, when a sheet o

South Korea's under-19 national football team opened an international tournament at home with a 1-0 win over Morocco on Wednesday.South Korea beat 10-man Morocco in their opening match at the 2018 Suwon JS Cup at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, thanks to a goal by Kim Hyun-woo.The JS Cup is an international men's under-19 football tournament that features four nations. This year's competition pits South Korea against Morocco, Mexico and Vietnam.  South Korean under-19 nation