SEOUL, Aug. 1 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean baseball league has decided to operate matches more flexibly starting Saturday, as record-breaking temperatures continue to grip the nation.

The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced Saturday that all venues except Seoul's Gocheok Sky Dome, the country's only domed stadium, can push back kick-off times by up to an hour through consultations between the league's game operations committee and individual club officials.

In regions where a severe heat wave warning is in effect, the KBO added it would actively consider not only delaying the start of games but also canceling them altogether.

As an immediate step, the league called off two games scheduled for that evening -- the Samsung Lions against the Lotte Giants in Busan and the Kia Tigers versus the NC Dinos in Changwon.

The decision was made after a severe heat wave warning was issued for the two southeastern cities the previous day, with forecasts indicating temperatures would remain above 37 C at the scheduled start times, the KBO said.

Under existing KBO regulations, games can be canceled or postponed in response to adverse weather conditions, including strong winds, extreme heat, fog, fine dust and yellow dust.

sshim@yna.co.kr

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