South Korea Soccer Player Apologizes in Miss Korea Pageant Forced Abortion Case 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
February 22, 2008
Seoul, South Korea (LifeNews.com) — A South Korean soccer player has issued a public apology for forcing his girlfriend, a Miss Korea beauty pageant contestant, to have an abortion. Hwang Jae-won responded to rumors circulating on the Internet that he had pressured Kim Ju-yeon to have an abortion she otherwise didn’t want.
Hwang, who plays on the Pohang Steelers soccer team as a defender, had been mentioned across the Internet as having pressured Kim to have an abortion when he found out she was pregnant.
According to the soccer web site Goal, Hwang held a press conference to respond to the accusations.
He didn’t reply directly as to whether the coerced abortion claims were true but apologized for causing a scandal.
"I am very sorry to have caused the disruption. I also apologize to the football association and Pohang," he said. "This is a matter between me and Kim and should be solved between the two of us."
Kim initially sparked the controversy by posting a message on the Korea Football Association web site indicating she was dating a soccer player from Pohang for eight months and that his last name was Hwang.
Kim also wrote that Hwang coerced her into having an abortion.
Goal reported that the incident caused Huh Jung-moo, the manager of the South Korean soccer team participating in the East Asian Football Championship in Chonqing, China to boot Hwang from the team.
The Korea Football Association indicated Hwang was given time off from the team to settle "personal issues."
