They were once battling each other for Olympic speed skating medals, but now, Lee Seung-hoon of South Korea and Bob de Jong of the Netherlands are chasing a common goal as athlete and coach -- to win medals for host South Korea at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games.Lee was the shock gold medalist in the men's 10,000m at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games, where de Jong claimed the bronze. Turn the clock forward more than seven years, and de Jong is now the South Korean national team coach and Lee on

South Korean speed skating star Lee Sang-hwa said Tuesday she's confident of beating her emerging rival from Japan at next year's Winter Olympics on home ice.Lee is the two-time defending Olympic gold medalist in the women's 500m, and is the current world record holder with 36.36 seconds. But she suffered through an injury-plagued 2016-2017 season, and was nipped by Nao Kodaira of Japan at the International Skating Union World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships in February.The event wa

DAEJEON (Yonhap) -- South Korean football technical director Kim Ho-gon was grilled by lawmakers in a parliamentary audit session Monday over national team coaching issues regarding Guus Hiddink.South Korean football technical director Kim Ho-gon. YonhapKim, who leads the Korea Football Association (KFA)'s technical committee, was called to the witness stand for the National Assembly's Education, Culture, Sports, and Tourism Committee audit session at Chungnam National University in Daejeon and

South Korea's football governing body confirmed Monday the venues for the national team's two friendly matches at home next month.The Korea Football Association said the men's national football team will take on Colombia at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, 46 kilometers south of Seoul, on Nov. 10, and they will host Serbia at Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan, about 410 kilometers southeast of the capital, on Nov. 14. Both matches will start at 8 p.m.  In this file photo taken Oct. 6, 2016, South

Women's golf legend Annika Sorenstam on Monday hailed the "amazing work ethic" of South Korean players, who've dominated the LPGA Tour in 2017.Sorenstam is visiting Seoul in promotion of Pacific Links International, an international golf membership company that announced the launching of its Korean service Monday.Sorenstam, a World Golf Hall of Famer with 72 LPGA wins and 10 majors to her credit, is uniquely positioned to comment on the excellence of South Korean players. In the late 1990s, she

South Korean golfer Ji Eun-hee, the latest LPGA champion, made a huge jump in the latest world rankings Monday.Ji soared 30 spots to reach No. 42 in the rankings on the strength of her victory at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan Championship in Taipei on Sunday. It was her first LPGA win in eight years.There were no changes at the top, with South Koreans Ryu So-yeon and Park Sung-hyun staying at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. In this EPA photo taken Oct. 22, 2017, Ji Eun-hee of South Korea holds

ATHENS -- South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said Monday he expects successful lighting of the Olympic flame for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games despite rain forecast. The Olympic flame lighting ceremony for PyeongChang Games will take place at the Temple of Hera in Olympia, Greece, on Tuesday. Following the tradition, the Olympic flame will be lit by the sun's rays using a parabolic mirror at noon, but the local weather forecast showed there's an 80 percent chance of rain on the ceremony

The top two clubs from the regular season will clash for the 2017 South Korean baseball championship starting this week.The Kia Tigers and the Doosan Bears will duke it out in the best-of-seven Korean Series, the championship final in the Korea Baseball Organization. It opens Wednesday at the Tigers' home, Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul.The Tigers have the home field advantage after finishing with the best record in the regular season at 87-56-1 (wins-losse

Tottenham Hotspur's South Korean forward Son Heung-min has scored his first league goal of the season in his club's 4-1 win over Liverpool.Son scored Tottenham's second goal against Liverpool at Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday (local time). With Spurs leading 1-0, Son found the net with his left foot as he redirected a cross from Harry Kane in the 12th minute.This was Son's first Premier League goal in the 2017-18 season. The 25-year-old South Korean scored in Spurs' 3-1 win over Borussia Do

South Korea have suffered their second straight defeat against the United States in women's football.South Korea, world No. 15, were blanked by the top-ranked US 6-0 at Sahlen's Stadium in Cary, North Carolina, on Sunday (local time) after giving up four goals in the first half.This was South Korea's second straight loss to the US, which beat the visitors 3-1 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans last Thursday. The Taeguk Ladies now mark two draws and nine losses against the US in their

South Korean Ji Eun-hee won the LPGA championship in Taiwan on Sunday -- her first LPGA victory in eight years.Ji cruised to take the Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan Championship in Taipei by six strokes over Lydia Ko. After shooting a bogey-free seven-under 65 in the final round at par-72 Miramar Resort and Country Club, Ji finished at 17-under 271.This was Ji's third career LPGA win and her first since her US Women's Open victory in July 2009. In this EPA photo, Ji Eun-hee of South Korea tees off

SEOGWIPO, South Korea -- American star Justin Thomas won the first PGA Tour event held in South Korea in a playoff Sunday.Thomas won the inaugural CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges at the Club at Nine Bridges on the southern resort island of Jeju thanks to a birdie on the second playoff hole against Marc Leishman.This was the seventh career PGA victory for Thomas, the reigning PGA Tour Player of the Year and money winner, and his first win in a playoff. Justin Thomas of the United States hoists the champion

In reaching their third straight championship final in the Korea Baseball Organization, the Doosan Bears flexed some serious muscles.The Bears slugged past the NC Dinos 14-5 on Saturday at Masan Stadium in Changwon, 400 kilometers southeast of Seoul, and claimed their best-of-five second round postseason series in four games.First baseman Oh Jae-il had a historic game, becoming the first player to hit four home runs in a KBO postseason game. He knocked in nine runs, also a postseason record.Clea

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez said Friday that he still isn't 100 percent fit enough to return to the octagon this year, although he expects to come back in the middle of next year. Velasquez said making a comeback isn't his priority at the moment, since his wife is pregnant. "She's going to deliver pretty soon, probably next month, and I want to focus on that," Velasquez said. "I want to experience the whole thing. I want to be there for my fami

South Korean soccer chief Chung Mong-gyu on Thursday apologized for the national team’s recent poor performance and vowed to use all available resources to help the Taeguk Warriors at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. 　Chung, who leads the Korea Football Association, said he is aware of fans’ concern ahead of the World Cup and feels responsible for the current situation. 　“As the KFA president, I’m very sorry for the national team’s poor performance and any continued criticism against us,” Chung said at