GOLF ROUNDUP

Inter-Korean cooperation in sports may play a bigger role in breaking the current deadlock on the Korean Peninsula, stemming from a recent series of missile launches and nuclear tests carried out by Pyongyang, a report said Sunday."Within the realm of social and cultural exchange between the two Koreas, only sports has survived the strained relations," Kim Dong-sun, a professor from Kyonggi University, said in a report published by the state-run Korea Development Institute. "Sports exchanges hav

   MUJU -- South Korea's Lee Ah-reum captured gold on the final day of the taekwondo world championships Friday.   Lee defeated Hatice Kubra Ilgun of Turkey 7-5 in the final of the women's under-57kg at the World Taekwondo Championships at Taekwondowon's T1 Arena in Muju, some 240 kilometers south of Seoul.   This was South Korea's tournament-leading fifth and final gold, and its 10th medal overall. The host also won a silver and four bronze medals here.South Korea's Lee Ah-reum after winning go

Hwang Jae-gyun of the San Francisco Giants fulfilled a clause in his contract by making his Major League Baseball debut Wednesday, which means he could make up to $1.6 million in incentives. Hwang Jae-gyun celebrates after collecting his first major league hit, a home run. (Yonhap)In January, Hwang signed a minor league deal with San Francisco that included performance-based bonuses and incentives. His starting minor league salary was $125,000, but the contract included a $1.5 million bonus for

MUJU -- South Korean taekwondo practitioner Kim So-hee grabbed a bronze medal in the women's under-62kg on the final day of the world championships Friday.Kim withdrew from her semifinals match against Ruth Gbagbi of Côte d'Ivoire with a knee injury at the World Taekwondo Federation World Taekwondo Championships in Muju, some 240 kilometers south of Seoul. Trailing 5-0 only 37 seconds into the match at T1 Arena, Kim twisted her right knee as she fell down trying to fend off Gbagbi's attack.Kim S

MUJU -- Taekwondo may have started in Korea, but the martial art has now evolved into a truly global sport, the world's Olympic chief said Friday.Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, visited Muju, 240 kilometers south of Seoul, for the closing of the World Taekwondo Championships, hosted by the World Taekwondo Federation.Bach congratulated the WTF and its South Korean president, Choue Chung-won, for the successful competition, which was the largest in its history with 9

MUJU -- Two international organizations for the Korean martial art of taekwondo have agreed to hold a joint performance during next year's Winter Olympics in South Korea, the sport's top official said Friday.Choue Chung-won, president of the World Taekwondo Federation, said his organization and the North Korea-led International Taekwondo Federation have reached "a verbal agreement" to perform together during the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.The WTF, headquartered in Seoul, is the official in

A key World Cup qualifying match for South Korea next month will take place in Seoul, the national football governing body said Friday.The Korea Football Association said the match against Iran in the final Asian qualifying round for the 2018 FIFA World Cup will be played at Seoul World Cup Stadium on Aug. 31.South Korea are currently in second place in Group A with 13 points, holding on to the last automatic qualification berth while sitting just one point above Uzbekistan with two matches to p

South Korea will have plenty of stumbling blocks ahead in its bid to assemble a unified, all-Korean women's hockey team at next year's PyeongChang Winter Olympics.New Sports Minister Do Jong-hwan told PyeongChang's organizing committee on Tuesday that he'll have discussions with the International Olympic Committee on putting together a joint Korean squad for the competition.Promoting peace has long been one of the goals of PyeongChang 2018, the first Winter Games to take place in South Korea. Wi

MUJU -- The Koreas face a time crunch and political uncertainty before they could start discussions on fielding a joint team at next year's Winter Olympics south of the border, the North's lone International Olympic Committee member said Thursday.Chang Ung has been in South Korea since last Friday for the World Taekwondo Federation World Taekwondo Championships in Muju, 240 kilometers south of Seoul. He traveled with a delegation from the North Korea-led International Taekwondo Federation.Chang

MUJU -- The taekwondo demonstration team of the sport's South Korea-led world governing body will perform for the first time in Pyongyang this fall, the organization's leader said Friday.Choue Chung-won, president of the World Taekwondo Federation said its demonstration team will perform during the opening ceremony of the world championships by the North Korea-led International Taekwondo Federation in September.A taekwondo demonstration team from the International Taekwondo Federation performs a

MUJU -- International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said Thursday he'd withhold further talks on a joint Korean delegation to the 2018 Winter Olympics south of the border, saying he'd discuss the matter later with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.Bach arrived in South Korea earlier in the day to attend Friday's closing ceremony of the ongoing World Taekwondo Championships, hosted by the World Taekwondo Federation in Muju, 240 kilometers south of Seoul.He traveled to Muju to attend a

MUJU -- Host South Korea added two more medals at the ongoing taekwondo world championships on Thursday, the penultimate day of the competition.Oh Hye-ri won silver in the women's under-73kg at the World Taekwondo Federation World Taekwondo Championships at Taekwondowon's T1 Arena in Muju, some 240 kilometers south of Seoul. Moments earlier, In Kyo-don got a bronze in the men's under-87kg.South Korea leads all countries with eight medals -- four gold, one silver and three bronze. Oh Hye-ri of So