
A series of rumors surrounding a renowned trot singer took the top spot on the nation's No. 1 online search engine Naver last week. Trot singer Na Hoon-a, 61, topped the Web site's most searched word list because of a string of rumors concerning him and actresses. The singer disappeared from the limelight in March last year after abruptly cancelling his planned concert and has not been seen in public since. Recently, some media outlets said his disappearance may be linked with Japanese gangsters "yakuza." The rumor says a Korean actress of surname "Kim" is the mistress of a yakuza boss in Korea and entered into an illicit relationship with Na, resulting in the gangster's revenge on the singer. Actress Kim Hye-soo, 38, and Kim Sun-a, 33, both of whom were allegedly pointed out to be the gangster's lover, denied the allegation. Police started investigating this case last week, tracing the whereabouts of Na. According to police, Na returned to Seoul on Jan. 5 after travelling to some countries in East Asia including Japan, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates.