Speed skater killed in accident

A former short-track speed skater, Oh Sae-jong, 33, died in a motorcycle crash in Seoul on Monday night.

Oh was killed on the spot when his motorcycle was directly hit by a vehicle that was making an illegal U-turn.

The former sports star was reported to have been heading to a meat diner he recently opened in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul, after giving a lesson at the ice rink in Korea University. Oh is reported to have left the ice rink at around 8 p.m.

Oh was an Olympic short-track champion who won a gold medal in the men’s 5,000-meter relay event at the 2006 Turin Winter Games. He retired from the sport following the Olympic gold medal.

After retirement, the former national sports star worked as a lecturer at a university and also taught young trainees at an elementary school in Seoul.

Oh’s funeral parlor has been prepared at Hanyang University Hospital in eastern Seoul. Oh’s close friends, including former speed skater Lee Kyu-hyuk, reportedly visited the parlor.

BY Jin Min-ji