South Korean golfer Bae Sang-moon, who has won twice on the PGA Tour, is to return home to complete his military service after yesterday losing a legal battle to defer his conscription.
The 29-year-old, who was granted US residency in 2013, was charged in February with violating South Korea’s military service regulations after failing to secure an extension to his overseas travel permit.
Bae was allowed to stay in the US while his lawsuit against that decision was pending, but a court in his home city of Daegu yesterday backed the South Korean Military Manpower Administration (MMA), Yonhap news agency reported.
Bae, who was contesting the MMA’s assertion that he had not spent enough time out of South Korea last year to qualify as an overseas resident, said he would join the army soon.
“I completely respect the court’s decision, and I humbly accept the judgement by the law,” Bae told Yonhap.
“I am sorry to those who have supported me, including all my fans and South Koreans, for causing anxiety,” he added.
With the country still technically at war with North Korea after the Korean War from 1950 to 1953, all South Korean men between 18 and 35 must complete two years of military service.
The court had ruled that his refusal to sign up with the military ran “counter to the principle of fairness” in regard to other conscripts.
Most in South Korea agree conscription is necessary to deter North Korean aggression and the public backlash toward high-profile figures such as actors, musicians and athletes who seek to skip military service can be fierce.
Bae secured his second PGA title at the Frys.com Open in Napa, California, in October last year and secured an exemption for next year after winning more than US$2 million so far this season.
Bae, who is to earn about US$130 per month as a private in the army, took home US$15,209 from his last outing on the PGA Tour after tying for 54th at the Greenbrier Classic earlier this month.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite