'NATIONAL BALLET DANCER FIRED FOR BREAKING SELF-QUARANTINE RULES'

Korean National Ballet (KNB) dancer Na Dae-han has been fired for traveling to Japan with his girlfriend during a

self-quarantine(자가격리) period amid the spread of COVID-19.

The ballet held a disciplinary(징계) committee meeting Monday and decided to dismiss(해고하다) the dancer for breaking the self-quarantine regulations(규정). This is the first time the KNB has fired a member since its establishment

in 1962.Na, 28, a member of the corps de ballet (non-soloist dancers) traveled to Japan in late February and uploaded photos of himself and his girlfriend on

his social media account. The KNB had advised all members to place themselves in quarantine from Feb. 24 to March 1 after performing in coronavirus-hit Daegu on Feb. 14 and 15.

According to the KNB's internal(내부의) regulations, the organization can dismiss a member if they do not show up to work for more than seven consecutive(연이은) days without cause or notice, or intentionally or negligently(나태하게) cause losses to the organization's property or seriously harm its reputation by misconduct(위법행위) such as sexual harassment. "We reflected upon(~에 대해 반성하다) our conduct at a time when the whole country is confronted with the grave situation, struggling with COVID-19," the KNB said in a statement. "We will overhaul(점검하다) the organization and impose(부과하다) stricter discipline on our members.” The KNB also punished two other members for conducting private lessons during the self-quarantine period.