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. 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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By Yoo Jee-ho SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Yonhap) -- For Park Sung-hyun, there's no place like home. The former world No. 1 in women's golf has fallen on hard times, and that may even be an understatement. The 28-year-old was at the top of the rankings as recently as 2019, and began this year at No. 10. But with zero top-10s and 10 missed cuts in 18 LPGA tournaments this year, Park is all the way down to No. 71, her lowest position of the season. That Park needed a sponsor's invitation to play at this week's BMW Ladies Championship, the only LPGA tournament held in South Korea this year, tells you all you need to know about the state of her game. But in Busan for the tournament that starts Thursday, Park couldn't have felt more at ease. "It's my first time at this tournament. And everything is perfect around here," Park said at her virtual press conference Wednesday from LPGA International Busan. "I am really excited about playing this event for the first time. I think I am going to

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(ATTN: ADDS more info from 7th para) SEOUL, Oct. 19 (Yonhap) -- The management agency of South Korean actor Kim Seon-ho said Tuesday it is trying to determine the truth following allegations the actor forced an ex-girlfriend to have an abortion, as it offered an apology for causing concern to fans. "We're sorry for causing concern 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

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SEOUL, Oct. 19 (Yonhap) -- Twenty-nine foreign nationals got caught cheating on a recent Korean language proficiency test, the organizer of the test said Tuesday. According to the National Institute for International Education, the foreigners either disobeyed supervisors' order to turn in their phones and other mobile gadgets or were caught possessing forbidden electronic devices while taking the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK) at a school in Seoul's Gangdong district Sunday. Of them, 13 were Chinese and nine others were Vietnamese nationals. They also included two Kazakhstan nationals and two Japanese people. Additionally, two Korean nationals were also caught cheating on the test. Their test results will be invalidated, the institute said. pbr@yna.co.kr

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SEOUL, Oct. 19 (Yonhap) -- A stalker who was sentenced to life imprisonment for killing an online game mate and her family members has appealed the verdict, officials said Tuesday. Kim Tae-hyun, 25, filed the appeal a day earlier against the sentence he received last week for killing the game mate, her mother and her sister at their home in Seoul in March. As the game mate cut communications with him, Kim disguised himself as a deliveryman to enter her home and killed the youngest daughter who was at home alone. He waited for the other two to come home and stabbed them to death when they arrived, according to a previous police probe. The local court accepted prosecutors' claim that the killings of not only the online friend he stalked but the two others as well were premeditated, although it came short of giving the death penalty demanded by the national prosecution service. Kim has admitted the murder of his friend was premeditated but insisted the killings of the oth

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(ATTN: UPDATES with ex-girlfriend's plan to take legal measures in paras 6-9, more background info in last para) SEOUL, Oct. 21 (Yonhap) -- Actor Kim Seon-ho's alleged former girlfriend has said she received an apology from him and there was an unspecified "misunderstanding" between them, after her claim that he had coerced her into having an abortion suddenly derailed the actor's career. "I received an apology from him, and it seems like there were some misunderstanding between us," an anonymous person who claimed to be Kim's ex-girlfriend said Wednesday in an addition to her previous posting to an online community. She did not elaborate on what the "misunderstanding" was. "I'm sorry that my writing seems to have caused unintentional damage to many people," she continued. "There was a time when we truly loved each other, and I don't feel good watching him collapse in a single moment due to my extreme writing." She said she does not want to see what is not true publiciz

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(ATTN: ADDS more info from 10th para) 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

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