Wife of Nat`l Goalie Jung Gives Birth to Boy

The wife of national soccer goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong, 25, gave birth to a boy Friday morning.

Jung’s pro soccer team Seongnam Ilhwa said Im Mi-jung, 23, delivered a healthy baby weighing 3.32 kilograms at a hospital in the southern Seoul suburb of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. The baby had been due Thursday.

The couple called the fetus “Sarang (love)” but will name the baby after Jung returns home.

Even in South Africa, the goalie showed his affection for his wife and their new son by uploading ultrasonic pictures of the fetus on his personal homepage. After news of the delivery broke, netizens began posting congratulatory messages on Jung and Im’s homepages.

Im competed in the 2006 Miss Korea pageant by representing South Gyeongsang Province and married Jung at the end of 2008.

starsky@donga.com