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  S. Korea's football chiefs apologize over World Cup failure SEOUL, July 30 (AJP) - The two men most blamed for South Korea's worst World Cup showing in a generation bowed their heads before lawmakers on Wednesday, as parliament opened a public reckoning over how the national team crashed out and who let it happen. South Korea exited the 2026 World Cup at the group stage despite fielding European-based stars including Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in, a result made harder to accept by the tournament's expansion to 48 teams and a draw w July 30, 2026
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  South Korea to hold tune-up friendlies this fall as search for new coach continues SEOUL, July 28 (AJP) - South Korea will play friendly matches against Venezuela and Uzbekistan in October as the search for a new head coach for the national team continues, the Korea Football Association (KFA) said on Tuesday. After former head coach Hong Myung-bo stepped down following the team's poor World Cup performance earlier this month, South Korea is scheduled to face Venezuela on Oct. 2 and Uzbekistan on Oct. 6, with details including venues to be announced later. V July 28, 2026
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  Former pitcher Park Chan-ho becomes 1st South Korean to acquire stake in MLB team SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) - Former pitcher Park Chan-ho has become the first South Korean to acquire a stake in a Major League Baseball (MLB) team, leading a consortium that has signed a strategic partnership with the Athletics. During a press event in Seoul on Monday, Park said the consortium, dubbed "Team61", will invest $70 million in the Athletics, which left Oakland, Northern California, and are currently based in West Sacramento, California, before relocating to Las Veg July 27, 2026
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  Jenny Shin ends decade-long wait as Koreans extend LPGA winning streak SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) -South Korea's Jenny Shin captured her second LPGA Tour title on Sunday, ending a wait of more than 10 years and extending Korean players' winning streak to three consecutive events ahead of the season's final major. Shin carded a 3-over-par 75 in the final round of the ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open at Dundonald Links in North Ayrshire, Scotland, to finish at 9-under 279. The 33-year-old held off compatriot A Lim Kim, who closed with a 4- July 27, 2026
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  Lee Kang-in returns to Spain as Atletico Madrid signs South Korean star SEOUL, July 26 (AJP) - South Korean midfielder Lee Kang-in has completed a return to Spain after joining Atletico Madrid from Paris Saint-Germain on a five-year contract, handing Diego Simeone one of Europe's most versatile attacking midfielders and giving South Korea another marquee presence in La Liga. Atletico announced Saturday that it had reached an agreement with PSG to sign the 25-year-old until June 30, 2031. While neither club disclosed financial terms, European medi July 26, 2026
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  Le Sserafim member to throw first pitch for Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan next month SEOUL, July 22 (AJP) - Hong Eunchae, the youngest member of K-pop girl group Le Sserafim, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch at a home game for Japan's Chiba Lotte Marines early next month, her management agency Source Music said on Wednesday. An avid baseball fan, Hong will take the mound for the ceremonial first pitch before the Marines' game against the Saitama Seibu Lions on Aug. 5 at ZOZO Marine Stadium in Chiba. She will also meet fans at events held as part July 22, 2026
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  Shin Jin-seo beats KataGo, echoes Lee Se-dol's AI win SEOUL, July 21 (AJP) - Nine years ago, a South Korean Go master sat across a board from a machine that was not supposed to be beatable. On March 13, 2016, in the fourth game of a five-game match against Google DeepMind's AlphaGo in Seoul, Lee Sedol became the only human ever to defeat that particular artificial intelligence, snapping three straight losses along the way. He would go on to lose the fifth game and the series overall, four games to one. But that one win, built aro July 21, 2026
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  Korean golfers sweep with Ryu Haeran's major double and Tom Kim's Open win SEOUL, July 13 (AJP) -South Korea enjoyed one of its most successful weekends in international golf as Ryu Haeran captured her second consecutive major championship and Tom Kim ended a difficult two-year spell by claiming the Genesis Scottish Open, giving the country victories on both the LPGA and men's PGA Tour stages. Ryu completed a stunning ascent to the summit of women's golf by winning the Amundi Evian Championship in France on Sunday, just two weeks after claiming t July 13, 2026
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  Hong Myung-bo to testify at National Assembly hearing SEOUL, July 09 (AJP) - Former South Korea head coach Hong Myung-bo issued a new public apology Thursday over the national team's early exit from the 2026 World Cup, saying he would appear before a parliamentary hearing if called and take full responsibility for the result. The statement was released through the Hong Myung-bo Scholarship Foundation, a charity the 57-year-old 2002 World Cup hero himself chairs. It was made public on the day the National Assembly's Culture, July 9, 2026