Former South Korean handball player Hong Jeong-ho has won a seat on the World Anti-Doping Agency's Athlete Committee, the sports ministry here said Friday.The appointment was made at the anti-doping regulator's board meeting in Seoul on Thursday. The 43-year-old will have a three-year term, representing athletes' rights until 2020, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said. Hong is one of four new members of the panel. It was established in 2015 and is chaired by former Canadian cross-cou

Two South Korean freestyle snowboarders said Friday they're working hard to master new skills to impress home fans at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games. Kweon Lee-jun and Lee Min-sik are two promising snowboarders who will make their Olympic debut in PyeongChang, some 180 kilometers east of Seoul. Both said they've worked to learn new techniques during the offseason and will show all their move at the Olympics. "Since people pointed out that my backside tricks are weak, I've worked hard

South Korean stars moved on to the next stage with relative ease at the International Skating Union World Cup Short Track Speed Skating on home ice Friday.Choi Min-jeong and Shim Suk-hee advanced to the quarterfinals in the women's 1,000 meters at Mokdong Ice Rink in Seoul. In the men's 1,000, Seo Yi-ra, Lim Hyo-jun and Hwang Dae-heon also reached the quarterfinals.Choi and Shim were the fastest skaters in their respective heats. The top two skaters from each of the seven groups, plus the six fa

South Korean star Park Sung-hyun received her trophy as the LPGA Tour's top rookie of 2017 at a ceremony in the United Stated on Thursday (local time).Park was presented with the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year trophy during the LPGA ceremony at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort in Naples, Florida. It was held after the first round of the LPGA's season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. In this photo provided by the LPGA Tour, Park Sung-hyun of South Korea holds the trophy for the Louise Suggs

Three of the new executives for South Korean football federation on Friday vowed to work together through stormy times in national football.Former national team head coach Hong Myung-bo was formally introduced as new general secretary for the Korea Football Association on Friday. He was joined by Lee Lim-saeng, former defender appointed as head of the new technical development committee, and Choi Young-il, ex-collegiate head coach who'll oversee school football programs and amateur football as a

South Koreans cruised through the heats on the first day of the International Skating Union World Cup Short Track Speed Skating on home ice on Thursday.Preliminaries and heats for the men's and women's 1,500m took place on the first day of the competition at Mokdong Ice Rink in Seoul.In the men's 1,500m, Lim Hyo-jun, Seo Yi-ra and Hwang Dae-heon all reached Friday's semifinals. And Choi Min-jeong, Shim Suk-hee and Kim A-lang did the same in the women's 1,500m, whose semifinals will also be on Fr

VERONA, Italy -- Once a hot prospect for FC Barcelona, South Korean footballer Lee Seung-woo is pursuing two goals these days: winning a starting spot at his Italian club Hellas Verona and earning a national team selection.Lee joined the Serie A club, currently just 19th in the 20-team table, this summer after spending seven years with La Masia, a renowned youth program by Spanish giants Barcelona. The 19-year-old forward, however, is going through hard times.Lee has so far featured in only four

South Korea's business associations will fully cooperate with the PyeongChang Olympics organizers to make the global sports event a success, the Korea Employers Federation said Thursday. In a meeting with officials from the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games, executives from the country's six major business lobby groups vowed they will sponsor promotional events for the winter sports games, buy tickets for their employees and provide other residential

Vice sports minister Roh Tae-kang said Thursday that South Korea is ready to provide "strong and effective" doping controls at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games.Roh said at the World Anti-Doping Agency's Foundation Board Meeting in Seoul that the South Korean government, PyeongChang 2018 organizers and anti-doping authorities are in close coordination to come up with the best anti-doping programs for the upcoming Winter Games. "The main goal of PyeongChang 2018's anti-doping programs is to provi

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea -- For those who drive to PyeongChang during the Winter Games period, there is one certain place they will probably end up: a large parking lot which will serve as ground transportation hub.During the Games, only authorized vehicles or cars with permits are allowed to be on the roads and streets near competition venues. If visitors come to PyeongChang with their own cars, they can only enter the venues via shuttle buses.This photo shows Daegwallyeong Transport Mall in Py

Two South Korean football clubs were fined Wednesday over fan violence that occurred earlier this month. The K League, operator of South Korea's pro football league, meted out a 7 million won ($6,290) fine for Incheon United and 5 million won fine for Jeonnam Dragons for the incident that happened at Gwangyang Football Stadium in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, on Nov. 5. After the match ended in a 2-2 draw, two Incheon supporters invaded the pitch and rushed to the referee who had ejected two

TOKYO -- South Korea will start a hard-throwing right-hander against Japan to open an inaugural baseball tournament this week.South Korean manager Sun Dong-yol on Wednesday announced Jang Hyun-sik as the starter against Japan in Thursday's opening game of the Asia Professional Baseball Championship at Tokyo Dome.The event features professional players from South Korea, Japan and Chinese Taipei under 24 years of age -- born on or after Jan. 1, 1993 -- or those with less than three years of profes

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea -- The organizers of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games said Wednesday that competition venues will become even more accessible once new railways for bullet trains officially open next month.Yeo Hyung-koo, secretary general of the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, said high speed train operation is just around the corner, and it will allow visitors to travel from the country's main gateway to competition venues in two hours

South Korean female short track speed skaters said Wednesday they're focused on "the process" ahead of next year's Winter Olympics on home ice.They will compete in the fourth and the final leg of the International Skating Union World Cup Short Track Speed Skating at Seoul's Mokdong Ice Rink starting Thursday. It will be the final qualifying event for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games. Three best results out of four World Cups in each race will be considered for Olympic qualification.As expected,

South Korean baseball club Hanwha Eagles said Wednesday they've signed American pitcher Jason Wheeler.The Korea Baseball Organization club said it has inked the 27-year-old left-hander to a $575,000 contract, which includes $100,000 in signing bonus.The Eagles said Wheeler has a good command of his four-seam fastball, slider and changeup. This photo captured from website MLB.com shows a profile for pitcher Jason Wheeler, acquired by the Korea Baseball Organization club Hanwha Eagles on Nov. 15,