25.03.18.Today News : Former broadcaster Song Jae-ik passes away / Pregnant woman gives birth in ambulance after 40 hospitals refuse her
1. Former football broadcaster Song Jae-ik passes away
Song Jae-ik, who was known as the ‘legend of sportscasters’ for his work on national team football in the 1990s and 2000s, including the 1998 World Cup in France and the 2002 World Cup in Korea-Japan, passed away on 18 January. He was 83 years old.
Song, who had been battling cancer since April last year, passed away at around 5 a.m. in Dangjin, Chungcheongnam-do, according to his family.
Born in Seoul in 1942, the deceased began broadcasting as an announcer for MBC in 1970. In the early days, he mainly covered boxing. It was from the Seoul studio that he broadcast the last fight of Kim Duk-koo (1955-1982), who died in 1982 in Las Vegas, USA, after being hit hard during a WBA lightweight title fight.
It was through his football commentary that he became a ‘celebrity caster’. From the 1986 World Cup in Mexico to the 2006 World Cup in Germany, he took the microphone for six consecutive World Cup tournaments, gaining great popularity as a ‘myungcombi’ who worked well together with the commentary committee at the time of Shin Shin-sun, who is now a visiting professor at Myongji University's Department of Sports History and Analysis. He was known for his quick wit and passionate comments that stimulated viewers' emotions.
‘Mount Fuji is falling,’ he shouted after Lee Min-sung scored a dramatic upset in the final Asian qualifier for the French World Cup in Tokyo, Japan, in September 1997. The match is often referred to as the ‘Tokyo Great Game’ because of the late player's expression.
After retiring from MBC in 1999, he moved to SBS Sports Channel in 2000, where he and Shin Shin-sun commentated on the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup. In 2014, he also broadcast women's boxing for Channel A. In 2019, she returned to the field as a commentator for the K League 2 (second division) and remained the ‘oldest active sportscaster (78 years old)’ until her final retirement on 21 November, when she called the K League 2 Seoul Eland FC vs Jeonnam Dragons match.
He is survived by his daughter Sodam and son Song Gul. The wake will be held at Ewha Womans University Hospital on the 21st.
One-line summary :The ‘legend of sportscasters’ Song Jae-ik passed away at the age of 83 on the 18th after battling cancer.
2. Pregnant woman gives birth in ambulance after 40 hospitals refuse her
A pregnant woman whose amniotic fluid ruptured in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, and who needed to go to a hospital immediately gave birth in an ambulance after more than 40 hospitals refused to accept her, it was later confirmed.
According to the Korea Ambulance and Fire Service Workers' Union on the 18th, a report was received on 119 that the amniotic fluid of A (34 weeks), a pregnant woman in her 20s, ruptured in Seonbu-dong, Danwon-gu, Ansan-si, at around 0:42 on the 10th.
The paramedics who responded to the call deemed A's condition to be critical and immediately contacted maternity and general hospitals in Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Chungnam provinces, but were told that they were unable to provide treatment. The hospitals reportedly gave reasons such as ‘late-night obstetric care is not possible’ and ‘there are no staff to take care of Sanbo’.
After contacting more than 40 hospitals for more than an hour, the paramedics were finally informed by the 119 dispatch centre at 1.48am that Seoul Medical Center in Jungnang-gu, Seoul, was able to accept the baby. Paramedics immediately headed to Seoul, but the condition of the woman, who was complaining of labour pains, worsened. Eventually, paramedics performed an emergency delivery, including suctioning, and she gave birth to a baby boy in the ambulance at 2:11 a.m., one and a half hours after the call.
After surviving the crisis, she and her newborn were admitted to Seoul Medical Centre at 2.36am for follow-up. Both mother and child are reportedly in good health.
‘While searching for a hospital to accept the emergency patient, the mother's condition became urgent and the crew had to perform an emergency delivery,‘ said Kim Gil-joong, chairman of the Korea Emergency Firefighters’ Union. ‘The system should be improved, such as handing over the right to select hospitals to the fire service, to protect the golden time of emergency patients.’