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FIGURE SKATING

Cha Jun-hwan signs 2-year deal with LG Electronics

Cha Jun-hwan, Korean men’s figure skating hopeful, signed a two-year sponsorship with LG Electronics on Tuesday.

Cha is the first Korean male figure skater to win two consecutive gold medals at the ISU Championships and win a bronze medal at the Junior Grand Prix final. In the most recent event, Cha finished fifth at the 2017 ISU World Junior Championships with 242.45 points. Cha will be competing at the PyeongChang Olympics as he will be of eligible age to play in senior events.

According to LG Electronics, Cha’s family shares a long-time relationship with the company. Cha’s family members have been working in the LG Electronics’ product distribution industry since 1973.

“With the signing of sponsorship,” LG Electronics said, “Cha’s family will continue its relationship with the company for three generations.”

LG Electronics has been actively supporting winter sports athletes for the upcoming Olympics, but Cha is the second figure skater the company will be sponsoring since Nam Na-ri, the Korean American who the company sponsored from 1999 to 2004.

BASEBALL

Hwang Jae-gyun slams 5th home run during exhibition

Hwang Jae-gyun of the San Francisco Giants hit his fifth home run in spring training exhibition games against the Cincinnati Reds at Scottsdale Stadium in Arizona on Monday.

Hwang, who wasn’t in the starting roster but had a chance to play in the fourth inning, went two for three with four runs batted in. When the Giants were leading 8-0, Hwang hit a home run against Cody Reed. In the seventh inning, he struck out against Blake Wood. Hwang later got a hit producing two runs against Tony Cingrani.

With his performance, Hwang’s batting average improved from 0.325 to 0.349. The Giants won the game 14-2.

Lee Seung-yuop prepares for last game of his career

As the Samsung Lions prepare to bid farewell to veteran slugger Lee Seung-yuop after the 2017 Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) season, his teammates would like nothing more than to send him off in style.

Team captain Kim Sang-su and third-year star Koo Ja-wook, in particular, are hoping Lee’s last game will come in the postseason.

The Lions won four consecutive titles from 2011 to 2014 but lost in the Korean Series to the Doosan Bears in 2015 and missed out on the postseason last season.

The Lions moved to the brand new Daegu Samsung Lions Park for the 2016 season, and Lee, the KBO’s career leader with 443 home runs, has repeatedly said he wants to play a postseason game at the new stadium before he wraps up his KBO career.

“We both grew up idolizing Lee Seung-yuop, and it’s been an honor to play on the same team with him,” Kim said at the annual KBO media day Monday.

Yonhap