South Korea's top men's golf tour will offer the highest purse yet next year.The Korea Professional Golfers' Association announced Wednesday that its top-tier Korean Tour will have a record total prize money of 14.1 billion won ($13.1 million), with 17 tournaments lined up for next season."The number of tournaments in 2018 is down from this year's 19, but the total purse has increased 150 million won from this year,"said Yang Hwee-boo, who heads the KPGA. "Many sponsors have helped us to develop

South Korean organizers have unveiled the podiums, costumes, music and gifts for medalists on Wednesday that will be used during the victory ceremonies at the PyeongChang Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games next year. The PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games said the victory ceremonies will be staged under the concept of "convergence and unique."The POCOG said designs of the victory ceremony items are based on the idea of combining aspects of Western an

In South Korea he is virtually unknown, but in the Philippines he is a national star.Bang Hyun-sung, better known as Ryan Bang, is a South Korean entertainer who made his name in the Philippines. He is currently a host of popular Philippines variety show "It's Show Time."Since he made his debut in the Philippine entertainment industry in 2010, Bang has visited South Korea on various occasions, but this month he had an unforgettable experience in his homeland: appearing on South Korea's top enter

South Korea's national football governing body on Tuesday appointed a director to handle national team coach hirings. The Korea Football Association (KFA) said its board members approved former Hong Kong national team boss Kim Pan-gon to lead the newly created national football team coach appointment committee. "Although Kim didn't have an outstanding career as a player, he has proven his ability as a coach and administrator," the KFA said."His appointment is meaningful because it shows those wh

Ticket sales for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics have surpassed 60 percent, the event‘s organizers said Sunday.　There are 47 days left until the Feb. 9 opening ceremony of the first Winter Games in South Korea. And as of Thursday, 655,000 tickets had been sold, or 61 percent of the organizers’ target of 1.07 million tickets.　The quadrennial competition will run through Feb. 25, with athletes competing for a record 102 gold medals across seven sports and 15 disciplines.　Sales for the tickets

South Korea and Japan have long been archrivals in sports, and the history isn't lost on Texas Rangers' Korean outfielder Choo Shin-soo.The Rangers' division rivals, Los Angeles Angels, acquired two-way Japanese star Shohei Ohtani this offseason. An MVP-winning pitcher who also displayed impressive power at the plate in Japan, Ohtani has been among the most talked-about players before even playing his first Major League Baseball (MLB) game.The two clubs will meet each other 19 times in the Ameri

The torch relay for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics will resume on Saturday, after Friday's leg was canceled following a deadly fire in its scheduled stop.PyeongChang's organizing committee earlier scrapped its torch relay in Jecheon, some 170 kilometers southeast of Seoul, for Friday, after a massive fire engulfed a commercial building in the city on Thursday and claimed 29 lives.The Olympic flame was supposed to pass through Jecheon but PyeongChang canceled the relay and festivities out o

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, the reigning South Korean professional football champions, also have the league's largest payroll and own its five highest-paid players, data showed Friday.The K League, operators of the professional competitions, released salary data on 11 clubs in the first-division K League Classic, excluding the military club Sangju Sangmu.The data showed that K League Classic players made 196.5 million won ($180,780) each on average.For South Korean players, the average annual salary

South Korean outfielder Kim Hyun-soo has returned home after a largely unsuccessful stint in Major League Baseball, but the 29-year-old hasn't entirely given up on his big league dreams.Kim recently signed a four-year deal worth 11.5 billion won ($10.7 million) with the LG Twins in the Korea Baseball Organization and was formally introduced by the Seoul-based club on Thursday.He split the past two seasons with the Baltimore Orioles and the Philadelphia Phillies, batting .273 with seven home runs

Former major league outfielder Kim Hyun-soo was formally introduced by his new South Korean club on Thursday, two days after signing one of the largest free agent contracts in the history of professional baseball here.Kim donned the pinstriped jersey of the LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization at his introductory press conference in Seoul. On Tuesday, the Twins, based in the nation's capital, announced their signing of the 29-year-old to a four-year deal worth 11.5 billion won ($10.7 mill

SEONGNAM, South Korea -- South Korean PGA Tour star Kim Si-woo said Thursday he has high confidence heading into the new year, thanks to improved fitness and added distance off the tee.The winner of the 2017 Players Championship, Kim said he's spent much of the winter working on his conditioning so he could better survive the grind that is the PGA Tour."Last winter, I didn't prepare as much as I should have, and it led to some injuries early in the year," Kim said at Namseul Country Club here in

South Korea's chef de mission for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games said Thursday he is ready to give his utmost effort to help the national team finish inside the top four in the medal race.Kim Ji-yong, executive director at Kookmin University in Seoul, was named the chief delegate for South Korea at the PyeongChang Olympics in October. The 44-year-old said he is determined to support athletes at South Korea's first Winter Olympics."It's the first time in 30 years that the Olympic Games

BUSAN -- South Korean mixed martial arts fighter Kang Kyung-ho said Thursday he is ready to give his all in his comeback bout next year.Kang will have his first bout since September 2014 when he faces Guido Cannetti at the Ultimate Fighting Championship Fight Night 124 in St. Louis, Missouri, on Jan. 14. He is one of two South Koreans at the UFC competition with Choi Doo-ho, who will take on Jeremy Stephens in a five-round main event.Kang was discharged from his military service earlier this yea

JINCHEON, South Korea -- The torch for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games toured the national training center for Olympic athletes on Wednesday, with summer sports stars lending support to the quadrennial competition.The torch relay, which began on Nov. 1, reached the Jincheon National Training Center in Jincheon, some 90 kilometers south of Seoul in North Chungcheong Province. South Korean fencer Kim Ji-yeon carries the torch for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics at the Jincheon National Trai

Former All-Star outfielder Lee Yong-kyu has taken the biggest year-to-year pay cut in South Korean professional baseball history.The Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization said Wednesday Lee has agreed to a 400 million won ($368,000) deal for the 2018 season.The 32-year-old earned 900 million won in 2017, the final season of his four-year contract. The 500 million won pay cut is the largest in the KBO's 35-year history, surpassing a 450 million won reduction that former LG Twins pitche