SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korean actor Kim Seon-ho on Wednesday admitted to forcing his ex-girlfriend to have an abortion and apologized in public to her and fans for his "carelessness." "I had dated her with affection," he said in a statement released through his management agency Salt Entertainment. "But I hurt her due to my carelessness and inconsiderate conduct." He said he wanted to say sorry to her in person but could not reach her. "I should have apologized to her in person," he said. "Nevertheless, I want to give an apology sincerely through this written statement." It marked the first release of his personal position on the issue after a woman who claimed to be Kim's ex-girlfriend uploaded a post on the internet three days ago, alleging he had coerced her into getting an abortion while they were dating. She identified him only as Actor K. After the post went viral on online communities, however, a growing number of people speculated that Actor K referr

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SEOUL, Oct. 19 (Yonhap) -- The agency of South Korean actor Kim Seon-ho on Tuesday made a public apology over the recent rumors involving its artist, saying that it is still looking for the truth. "We're sorry for causing troubles over a not-good issue," Salt Entertainment said in a statement, breaking its silence on the rumors. "We're trying to find out the truth." On Sunday, an anonymous writer, who claimed that she is an ex-girlfriend of rising star "Actor K," uploaded a post that he had allegedly coerced her into getting an abortion while they were dating. Since then, the post has gone viral on online communities, and a growing number of people speculated that "Actor K" referred to Kim, who has been gaining popularity for his role in the tvN romantic comedy "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha." But his agency had remained silent until Tuesday. In the statement, the agency also apologized for not presenting its position quickly. "We ask you to wait a little longer as the truth h

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SEOUL, Oct. 16 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean football governing body said Saturday it is trying to verify reports that the men's national team captain Son Heung-min had tested positive for COVID-19 during his most recent international duty. British media reported on Friday (local time) that two players on Son's Premier League club, Tottenham Hotspur, had been infected with the novel coronavirus and will be sidelined for the team's next match against Newcastle United on Sunday. Tottenham coach Nuno Espirito Santo acknowledged that the team is now facing "huge issues" but said he would not elaborate further before the game. The two infected players haven't been officially identified, but Daily Hotspur, a Twitter account providing news on Tottenham, said Son and Bryan Gil are the two Spurs players who have tested positive. Son joined the national team on Oct. 5 and played against Syria two days later in the first of two World Cup qualifying matches of the month. He then f

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SEOUL, Sept. 28 (Yonhap) -- K-pop sensation BTS will hold a series of live concerts in Los Angeles in November and December, the band's label said Tuesday. "BTS PERMISSION TO DANCE ON STAGE - LA" will be held in the U.S. city on Nov. 27 and 28 and Dec. 1 and 2, according to Big Hit Music. This will be the septet's first live concerts since 2019, when the group performed in Seoul. Tickets will be available from Ticketmaster and more information can be found on the online fan community Weverse. Ahead of the LA gigs, BTS will also hold a virtual concert, "'BTS PERMISSION TO DANCE ON STAGE," on Oct. 24. hague@yna.co.kr

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SEOUL, Oct. 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korean TV series "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha" is gaining popularity on global online streaming platform Netflix, adding to a recent bullish run worldwide of Korea-made content led by the survival drama "Squid Game." The romantic comedy, aired on local cable channel tvN and simultaneously available for international streaming on Netflix, placed ninth on the most-viewed TV show rankings, according to streaming analytics firm FlixPatrol on Friday. It is the second South Korean show making it to the top 10, while "Squid Game," a Netflix original released last month, has remained atop the list for more than a week. "Hometown" also became one of the 10 most popular Netflix shows in about 20 countries, including Australia, Japan and Indonesia. Starring Shin Min-a and Kim Seon-ho, the drama is a love story between an intelligent dentist from a big city and a handyman living in a seaside village. It is a TV series remake of the comedy film "Mr. Handy" (2

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SEOUL, Sept. 26 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean worker of a state-run facility currently used by hundreds of evacuees from Afghanistan as a temporary shelter was confirmed to be infected with the new coronavirus Sunday, the Ministry of Justice said. According to the ministry, the employee of the National Human Resources Development Institute in the nation's central county of Jincheon tested positive for the virus. The worker reportedly was not in charge of duties related with the Afghan evacuees. Following the infection, the institute had those who worked in the same department as the new patient get PCR testing. The ministry said it plans to take necessary measures for the Afghan evacuees based on the test results. About 390 Afghan civilians have been staying in the facility since they arrived in the country late last month, seeking refugee from possible Taliban threats for having supported foreign operations. sshim@yna.co.kr

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SEOUL, Sept. 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korean tattooists once again filed a petition with the Constitutional Court Monday against the medical law that requires tattooing to be conducted only by licensed medical personnel. A total of 153 tattooists associated with the Korea Fashion Tattoo Association and the Korea Tattoo Federation said Article 27 of the medical law that outlaws tattooing by people with no medical license violates their constitutional rights. "South Korea is the only country that punishes tattooing by non-medical practitioners based on a ruling by the Supreme Court nearly three decades ago," they said in a statement. "The outdated law does not reflect the reality where getting tattoo by a tattooist has become normal in our society," they said. Tattooing itself is not illegal in the country, but it should be only conducted by doctors. The 1992 Supreme Court ruling defined tattooing as a medical service. The same petition was filed three times already in 2017

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By Lee Haye-ah SEOUL, Oct. 7 (Yonhap) -- Yoon Seok-youl, the leading opposition presidential candidate, has increasingly faced questions about superstitious or unscientific beliefs, this time over his alleged ties to an anal acupuncture specialist that he claims to have no knowledge of. The allegation surfaced Tuesday during the sixth TV debate among presidential contenders of the main opposition People Power Party, when one of Yoon's competitors, former Rep. Yoo Seong-min, asked him if he has met someone "known to perform acupuncture on a strange and particular area." Yoon replied he had not. The subject was likely a sore point for Yoon because only days earlier he had come under intense criticism for displaying the Chinese character for "king" on his palm, showing what his opponents described as an utter disregard for the democratic system and a reliance on superstition. The latest fodder appeared in footage from an event in June, in which the self-professed acu

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SEOUL, Oct. 19 (Yonhap) -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday confirmed a 30-year prison sentence for a male online broadcaster charged with killing a female employee for refusing to wear revealing clothes online. The 40-year-old man surnamed Oh was indicted on robbery and murder charges last year over the death of his 24-year-old employee in March last year. Oh's crimes occurred at his studio apartment in Uijeongbu, just north of Seoul, where he was conducting an internet broadcast on overseas futures investment, according to court documents. After incurring a debt of over 100 million won (US$84,700) and running short of living expenses, Oh set up a plan to make money by hiring the female employee and having her appear in his broadcast in skimpy dresses. After she refused to comply, Oh stole 10 million won from her bank account before strangling her to death, the documents said. One day after his crimes, Oh turned himself in to the police. A district court sentenced Oh to

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By Choi Soo-hyang SEOUL, Oct. 18 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has publicly mentioned the United States more often recently, drawing attention to Pyongyang's next move amid a prolonged deadlock in their nuclear talks, according to South Korea's unification ministry Monday. The ministry made the assessment in a report to lawmakers for an annual parliamentary audit, calling for an "active response" to resume dialogue in the face of growing volatility in the region. North Korea conducted four new missile tests in September alone, including what it called a "hypersonic" missile and a long-range cruise missile. "North Korea's following moves on the U.S. require attention as leader Kim Jong-un's messages on the U.S. have recently increased as well as become more detailed," the ministry said in the report. The assessment came a week after Kim said there are no grounds to believe why Washington is not hostile toward Pyongyang, though adding that neither South Kore

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