With the 2016 K League Classic football season looming, Ulsan Hyundai FC forward Lee Jeong-hyeop says a devastating injury is now behind him and he's ready to contribute to his new club.Lee's solid season with Sangju Sangmu FC -- a second-division club of conscripted players -- was abruptly halted last August when he suffered broken cheekbones after jumping into the head of an opponent in a battle for the loose ball. He missed nearly two months of action.Lee completed his military service in Oct

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors may be the prohibitive favorite to win their third straight championship in the top South Korean football league, but their head coach Choi Kang-hee said Monday he'd rather see rival clubs get more of the spotlight.After a series of offseason moves that added depth to an already strong squad, Jeonbuk -- now dubbed "Real Jeonbuk" after Spanish giants Real Madrid -- seem poised for their third straight K League Classic title.Yet they're off to a rocky start at another major

South Korea may not play their last match of the second Asian qualifying round of the 2018 FIFA World Cup this month following their opponents' international suspension, the local football governing body said Monday. The Korean Football Association said that FIFA, the world's top football body, will give its decision by Thursday about whether or not the World Cup qualification match between South Korea and Kuwait should take place at Daegu World Cup Stadium on March 29 as originally scheduled.FI

It is increasingly sounding like a broken record: Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors will enter the new K League Classic football season as the title favorite.Jeonbuk have won the past two championships in the top-flight South Korean league, and it will likely be much the same story in 2016. If anything, Jeonbuk may have an even better chance to capture the title than the past two years, after making a slew of offseason moves to add depth to an already stacked squad.Their star-studded list of new faces feat

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors have won South Korea's top-tier football league the last two years, but that clearly didn't satisfy the club. After a busy offseason, Jeonbuk have come back much stronger this time, primed for a three-peat.Over the winter, Jeonbuk signed a slew of local big names for the squad, which some local fans are now even calling "Real Jeonbuk" or "Bayern Jeonbuk," comparing the four-time K League Classic champ to star-studded Spanish giant Real Madrid and German champion Bayern Mun

When South Korean women's football head coach Yoon Duk-yeo said last month his team could reach the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, this year, local fans praised him for his confidence, but at the same time, there were doubts.Yet after two hard-fought draws against heavy favorites, South Korea still have a shot at qualifying for their first Olympics, as improbable as it seems.South Korea, which have never reached the Summer Games since women's football was first contested in Atla

Chung Mong-gyu, president of the Korea Football Association, is set to be named the head of the South Korean athletic delegation for the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, a senior football official said on Wednesday.According to the KFA official, who asked not to be named, Chung recently received a request from the Korean Olympic Committee to lead the South Korean squad at the Rio Games and he is "positively" reviewing the offer. A KOC official confirmed Wednesday that South Korea'

South Korea held favored North Korea to a 1-1 draw at the final Asian women's Olympic football qualifying tournament Monday in Japan, a decent start to the quest for their maiden Summer Games appearance.At Yanmar Stadium Nagai in Osaka, Jung Seol-bin put the 18th-ranked South Korea on board just past the half-hour mark, but Kim Un-ju scored the 79th-minute equalizer for world No. 6 North Korea to salvage a draw.The result snapped South Korea's losing streak against North Korea at nine. North Kor

Suwon Samsung Bluewings were once one of the richest football clubs in South Korea being supported by local tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. But after Cheil Worldwide Inc., Samsung Group's advertisement arm, took over the club in 2014, spending went down as the management went for efficiency. Having a small budget means that Suwon face hurdles in bringing in high-profile footballers from outside and keeping star players on the squad. Despite finishing second in the country's top division K Lea

The South Korean women's football team last year had a historic run at the FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada, reaching the round of 16 for the first time.The ladies now aim for another milestone: going to this year's Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.Since women's football was first staged at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games, South Korea have never appeared at the Olympics. But head coach Yoon Duk-yeo said Wednesday there is a good possibility that the drought will end this year.South Korea wil

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors last season had no problem defending their title in the top-tier K League Classic as they clinched their fourth domestic league title with two matches to spare.But that doesn't mean the club had a satisfying season as Jeonbuk was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League after losing to Japanese side Gamba Osaka.The result in Asia's premier club tournament prompted Jeonbuk to recruit a slew of local big names for the squad t

Four South Korean football teams start Asia's premier club competition this week with big-spending Chinese clubs presenting obstacles on their road to the title.With 3.5 slots at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League allocated to the top-tier K League Classic, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Suwon Samsung Bluewings, the top two clubs in the league, have directly advanced to the group stage. FC Seoul joined them as the winner of the domestic Football Association (FA) Cup.The Pohang S

South Korea on Friday announced their women's football squad for the Asian qualifiers of the Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics, led by Chelsea Ladies FC attacker Ji So-yun.The Korea Football Association unveiled the 20-woman squad for the final regional qualification round for the Summer Games in Rio. The qualification starts Feb. 29 and ends March 9 in Osaka, Japan. South Korea, North Korea, Japan, Australia, China and Vietnam will play each other once, and the top two teams will earn their ticket

Dates for South Korea's football friendlies against Spain and the Czech Republic have been set, the sport's national federation said Friday.South Korea will take on Spain on June 1 in Salzburg, Austria, and face the Czech Republic on June 5 in Prague, the Czech Republic, according to the Korea Football Association, which said earlier this week it was in talks with the two European counterparts to set matches in early June.The teams are trying to arrange kickoff times, the KFA added.The Spanish F

Jeong Jong-deok, a former South Korean football coach who produced future World Cup heroes, died of a heart attack on Tuesday. He was 73.Jeong coached Konkuk University in Seoul for 20 years starting in 1980, winning seven trophies in domestic college football tournaments. His star-studded list of former pupils features former Tottenham Hotspur left back Lee Young-pyo and former national team striker Hwang Sun-hong and midfielder Yoo Sang-chul. All three were integral members of the South Korean