Journalist

PARK, JONG-HO
  • Cha Jun-hwan and Lee Hae-in invited to 2026 Milan Olympic figure skating gala
    Cha Jun-hwan and Lee Hae-in invited to 2026 Milan Olympic figure skating gala Cha Jun-hwan (Seoul City Hall) and Lee Hae-in (Korea University) will skate in the figure skating gala at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics. The International Skating Union said it announced on Feb. 21 the seven women’s singles skaters selected for the gala, which will be held at 4 a.m. Feb. 22 (Korea time) at the Milan Ice Skating Arena in Italy. The gala features medalists in men’s and women’s singles, pairs and ice dance, along with “special invitation” skaters chosen based on competition results and fan requests. Lee was named as a special invitee after placing eighth in women’s singles with 210.56 points. Her gala music selection is the theme song from the Netflix animated series “K-Pop Demon Hunters.” Cha, who finished fourth in men’s singles, had already been confirmed for the gala. His program is “Not a Dream,” performed by musician Song So-hee. With Lee added, two South Korean skaters will take part in the figure skating gala.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-21 04:33:00
  • Park Ji-woo, Lim Ri-won Finish 21st and 28th in Women’s 1,500 at Milan-Cortina Olympics
    Park Ji-woo, Lim Ri-won Finish 21st and 28th in Women’s 1,500 at Milan-Cortina Olympics South Korea’s Park Ji-woo (Gangwon Provincial Government) and Lim Ri-won (set to enroll at Korea National Sport University) finished in the lower half of the field in the women’s 1,500 meters. They skated in the final on Feb. 21 at the Milan speedskating stadium at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Park placed 21st in 1:58.26, and Lim was 28th in 1:59.73. Lim, skating in the third pair, went through the first 300 meters in 26.49 seconds, starting faster than Erura Groenewoud, but was passed after the midway point. It was Lim’s first Olympic race. She had originally qualified only for the mass start, but was added to the 1,500 after an opening in the field and was notified three days earlier that she could compete. Park raced Austria’s Shanin Rosner in the fifth pair and opened in 26.26 seconds for the first 300 meters. She held a slight edge early, but the gap grew in the closing laps as she finished 21st. Both skaters were preparing for the mass start later Feb. 21. The gold medal went to the Netherlands’ Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong in 1:54.09. Rijpma-de Jong, who won silver in the women’s team pursuit, earned her first gold of the Games to become a multiple medalist. Norway’s Ragne Wiklund took silver in 1:54.15, and Canada’s Valerie Maltais won bronze in 1:54.40. Japan’s Miho Takagi, the women’s 1,500 world record holder, finished sixth in 1:54.86. 2026-02-21 02:33:00
  • Korea’s Won Yoon-jong Elected IOC Athletes’ Commission Member, Vows to Speak Up for Athletes
    Korea’s Won Yoon-jong Elected IOC Athletes’ Commission Member, Vows to Speak Up for Athletes Won Yoon-jong, the first Korean winter-sport athlete elected to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Athletes’ Commission, pledged to “speak up when needed to protect the rights and interests of all athletes.” Speaking at a news conference Feb. 20 (local time) at Korea House for the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics, held at Villa Necchi Campiglio in Milan, Won said, “As an Athletes’ Commission member representing winter sports, I think I can do a good job speaking for them.” On Feb. 19, Won won the IOC Athletes’ Commission election held during the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics, finishing first with 1,176 votes. The vote selected the top two finishers out of 11 candidates. He will serve an eight-year term with the same authority as regular IOC members. Won became South Korea’s third IOC Athletes’ Commission member, following Moon Dae-sung, a taekwondo gold medalist at the 2004 Athens Olympics, and Yoo Seung-min, president of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee and a men’s singles table tennis gold medalist. Won is the first from a Korean winter sport. Won described the tension as he awaited the result. “Every minute and second felt incredibly long,” he said. “Because the announcement came in a quiet setting, the tension peaked and I was anxious.” He credited his win to sincerity. “The one thing I kept in mind while preparing was sincerity,” he said. “I thought the first step was meeting athletes in person, communicating and listening to their voices. I started campaigning with that mindset and kept it to the end, and I think athletes responded positively and voted for me.” The election is decided by votes from athletes competing at the Olympics. With events spread across northern Italy, Won said the campaign became a physical grind. He recalled saying when he entered the race that he would “run until three pairs of sneakers wear out.” “With six clusters separated, getting around was especially difficult,” he said. “In places like Livigno, where it snowed or it was cold, it could be dangerous. After standing 14 to 15 hours, it felt like my knees and back wore out more than my shoes.” Won said he drew on Yoo’s campaign during the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016. “I heard President Yoo walked more than 30,000 steps a day, and I did it with a similar feeling,” Won said. “From morning to night, I communicated with everyone — athletes, volunteers and staff. It’s meaningful that I approached it with sincerity.” Looking ahead, Won said he wants to broaden support for athletes in countries with limited winter-sports infrastructure. “I’m interested in helping athletes from many countries, including those without snow, understand the value of sport and ultimately support them so they can take part in the Olympics,” he said. “I’ve helped Jamaican sled athletes and supported athletes from Thailand and others who competed at the Youth Olympics as they transition into senior competition, and I want to expand that work.” Asked about changes to Olympic events, Won said he has heard concerns from athletes about potential cuts. “In the case of Nordic combined or snowboard alpine (parallel giant slalom), I heard athletes say on site, ‘There are lots of spectators and it’s fun — why should it be removed?’” he said. “I think my role is to listen carefully to athletes’ messages and deliver them to the IOC.” Won said he hopes that after his eight-year term, athletes will say they chose well. “I’d like to hear athletes say, ‘We picked a good representative,’” he said. “I want to do work that repays the trust they placed in me.” 2026-02-21 00:51:00
  • Short Track Captain Lee Jun-seo Targets Gold in Men’s 5,000 Relay at Milan Olympics
    Short Track Captain Lee Jun-seo Targets Gold in Men’s 5,000 Relay at Milan Olympics South Korea’s men’s short track team is training with one goal: gold in the 5,000-meter relay final. Team captain Lee Jun-seo said he is ready to do his part in the title bid. Lee spoke after training on Feb. 19 at the Milan Ice Skating Arena in Italy. As captain, Lee has helped set the tone ahead of the final, scheduled for early Feb. 21 in Korea. Asked about tactics, he said he could not share details because it would reveal the team’s plan. Still, he added, “If I race, I’ll push my teammates with everything I have and help our gold-medal challenge.” At 182 centimeters (about 6 feet), Lee is expected to take on the “push man” role — the skater who drives a teammate forward during exchanges to build speed. “We’ve trained countless times, so I’m confident in our teamwork,” Lee said. “We know each other’s roles and strengths well, so I think we can produce a good result in the final.” South Korea’s men have had mixed results at these Games, with Hwang Dae-heon winning silver in the 1,500 meters and the team taking bronze in the 1,000. Lee said a relay win would erase that disappointment. “We started with Jong-eon’s bronze, then Dae-heon won gold, and now it’s our turn to win gold,” he said. He added that South Korea should skate with confidence because it won the most gold medals in the men’s 5,000 relay on the 2025-2026 International Skating Union World Tour. The team won two gold medals across World Tour events 1 through 4 and ranked No. 1 in the world standings. South Korea has not won Olympic relay gold since the 2006 Turin Games. The team will try to end that drought in the final early Feb. 21. 2026-02-19 23:12:00
  • South Korea’s Won Yoon-jong Elected to IOC Athletes’ Commission
    South Korea’s Won Yoon-jong Elected to IOC Athletes’ Commission South Korean bobsledder Won Yoon-jong has been elected to the International Olympic Committee’s Athletes’ Commission, becoming the first South Korean from a winter sport to win a seat. The IOC announced the results Thursday at the athletes village for the 2026 Milano-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics in Milan. Won finished first among 11 candidates. His term will run for eight years, through 2034. Voting was held among Olympic athletes from late January through Feb. 18. Won is South Korea’s third IOC athletes’ representative, following taekwondo gold medalist Moon Dae-sung at the 2004 Athens Olympics and table tennis men’s singles gold medalist Yoo Seung-min, a former president of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee. He is the first from a winter Olympic sport. Short-track speed skater Jeon I-kyung ran in the election at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, and sled athlete Kang Gwang-bae ran at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics, but neither was elected. With Won’s election, South Korea now has two active IOC members. Kim Jae-yeol, president of the International Skating Union, was elected an IOC member in 2023 and was also elected to the executive board at an IOC session held shortly before the Olympics, the report said.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-19 22:24:00
  • Short-track skater Kim Gil-li targets individual gold after relay win at Milan Olympics
    Short-track skater Kim Gil-li targets individual gold after relay win at Milan Olympics Kim Gil-li, who won gold in the women’s 3,000-meter relay in short track, said she wants to add an individual title as well. After official training at the Milan Ice Skating Arena on Feb. 19, Kim said she is aiming for two gold medals. “I’m hungry for two titles,” she said. “After the team event, I want to go for gold in the individual races, too.” South Korea’s women’s team won the 3,000-meter relay final, with Kim skating the anchor leg and finishing a late comeback. With her bronze medal in the women’s 1,000 meters, she has become a multiple medalist at these Games. Kim now turns to the individual events, including the 1,500 meters on Feb. 21. “I’ll deliver the best performance I can,” she said. She also said she hopes to face teammate Choi Min-jeong in the final. “I’ve always competed with Min-jeong, and I’ve grown a lot watching her,” Kim said. “I want us to reach the final together and compete in good spirit.” Looking back on the relay, Kim said she had carried guilt after falls in earlier races. She said she fell in the women’s 3,000-meter relay final at the 2025 Harbin Asian Winter Games, and also went down in the mixed 2,000-meter relay semifinals at these Olympics after getting tangled with American skater Corinne Stoddard. “I felt really sorry to my older teammates, but winning gold in the women’s 3,000-meter relay let me put that weight down,” she said. Kim said the individual races feel different. “In the individual events, I can focus only on my own race, so I feel more at ease,” she said. “I’m relieved after getting past a big hurdle. With the pressure gone, I’ll show what I can do.”* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-19 22:03:00
  • Choi Min-jung Begins Training for 1,500 Meters After Olympic Relay Gold
    Choi Min-jung Begins Training for 1,500 Meters After Olympic Relay Gold After winning the women’s 3,000-meter relay in short track to claim her fourth career Olympic gold, Choi Min-jung of Seongnam City Hall will race the 1,500 meters on Feb. 21, aiming to set a new South Korean record for most Olympic medals across the Summer and Winter Games. Choi is scheduled to compete at 4:15 a.m. Feb. 21 (Korea time) at the Milan Ice Skating Arena in Italy. A gold medal in the event could rewrite South Korea’s Olympic record book. Choi won gold in the women’s 1,500 meters and the women’s 3,000-meter relay at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. At the 2022 Beijing Games, she won gold in the 1,500 and took silver in the 1,000 and the 3,000-meter relay. With the relay gold at this Olympics, she now has four Olympic gold medals and two silvers. Her latest medal brought her level with Jin Jong-oh (shooting), Kim Soo-nyung (archery) and Lee Seung-hoon (speed skating) for the most Olympic medals by a South Korean athlete across the Summer and Winter Games, according to the report. She also matched short track great Jeon I-kyeong’s South Korean Winter Olympic record of four gold medals. If Choi wins the 1,500, she would set new national records for both total Olympic medals and Winter Olympic golds. Choi returned to the ice to prepare for the 1,500 just 12 hours after winning the relay gold. After training, she told reporters, “Things didn’t go well in the early and middle part of the women’s 3,000-meter relay final, but I think I was able to get through it because so many people cheered for us.” She added, “I want to carry that good energy into the last event, the women’s 1,500, and make sure I get a good result.” On tying Jeon’s record, Choi called her “a senior I respect,” and said, “Because so many seniors, including coach Jeon, set great records, younger athletes like me have been able to follow and take on new challenges.” Choi said she is not focused on records. “I just want to trust myself as usual and do my best,” she said. “I want to finish this Olympics smiling,” she added, saying, “Just like I didn’t cry yesterday, I won’t cry tomorrow either — I’ll get a good result.” * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-19 21:12:00
  • Men’s Ski Halfpipe Qualifying at Milan 2026 Postponed by Heavy Snow
    Men’s Ski Halfpipe Qualifying at Milan 2026 Postponed by Heavy Snow The men’s freestyle ski halfpipe qualifying was postponed because of heavy snow. Olympic organizers said the qualifying round, originally scheduled for 6:30 p.m. (Korea time) on Thursday, was pushed back 24 hours to 6:30 p.m. Friday. South Korea’s Lee Seung-hoon and Moon Hee-sung, both of Korea National Sport University, were set to compete. Halfpipe is judged on aerial tricks performed on a semicylindrical course. In the women’s event, Choi Ga-on of Sehwa High School previously won South Korea’s first gold medal in a snow sport. Ski halfpipe uses skis rather than a snowboard on the same type of pipe. The men’s halfpipe final had been set for 3:30 a.m. (Korea time) on Feb. 21, meaning qualifying and the final would be held on the same day if the schedule otherwise holds. The men’s freestyle ski aerials qualifying and final, scheduled at the aerials moguls park near Livigno Snow Park, were also postponed. No South Korean athletes are entered in that event. Earlier, heavy snow in Livigno on Feb. 17 forced postponements including the women’s snowboard slopestyle final and a ski aerials qualifying round. 2026-02-19 19:36:00
  • Choi Min-jeong, Kim Gil-li and Noh Do-hee draw 1,500 quarterfinal heats at Milan Olympics
    Choi Min-jeong, Kim Gil-li and Noh Do-hee draw 1,500 quarterfinal heats at Milan Olympics South Korea’s women’s short track team will return to the ice in the 1,500 meters, aiming for another gold at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics. The quarterfinal heat draws were announced on Feb. 19 (Korea time). Kim Gil-li, who won bronze in the women’s 1,000 and gold in the 3,000 relay, was placed in Heat 1. She will race Canada’s veteran Kim Boutin, the Netherlands’ Michelle Velzeboer, China’s Zhang Chutong, Croatia’s Valentina Aščić and Poland’s Natalia Maliszewska. The main rival in the heat is the 31-year-old Boutin, who took bronze in the 3,000 relay final and will face Kim for a second straight event. Choi Min-jeong, who won gold in the women’s 3,000 relay to claim her fourth career Olympic gold and draw level with short track great Jeon I-kyeong, will skate in Heat 3. The heat includes Italy’s Arianna Sighel, who won silver in the relay a day earlier, and Belgium’s Tineke Den Dulk, a mixed relay bronze medalist. Noh Do-hee was drawn into Heat 6, which includes Italian star Arianna Fontana. Fontana added relay silver a day earlier, bringing her Olympic total to 14 medals (three gold, six silver and five bronze) across her sixth Games, making her Italy’s most decorated Olympian. Belgium’s Hanne Desmet and American Kristen Santos-Griswold were also listed as key skaters in the heat. South Korea’s women’s 1,500 races are scheduled for early Feb. 21 (Korea time). * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-19 19:03:00
  • Olympic Halfpipe Gold Medalist Choi Ga-on Diagnosed With Three Fractures
    Olympic Halfpipe Gold Medalist Choi Ga-on Diagnosed With Three Fractures Choi Ga-on of Sewha High School, who won South Korea’s first Olympic gold medal in snow sports, has been diagnosed with three fractures. Choi posted a hospital exam photo on Instagram on Feb. 19 (Korea time) with the words “3 fractures.” The results appear to show fractures in three places. Choi won gold in the women’s snowboard halfpipe final at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics, scoring 90.25 at Livigno Snow Park in Italy early on Feb. 13. She was injured on her first run, catching an edge on the lip of the slope during a landing after her second jump and taking a hard fall. She stayed down for an extended time, prompting medical staff to enter. On her second run, she slipped again and did not score. She rallied on her third run to complete a comeback, beating Chloe Kim of the United States, who had led through two runs with 88.00. After winning gold, Choi said, “I tried to move my foot by putting strength from my toes,” adding, “I’m glad I was able to come down and compete again.” Choi said upon returning to South Korea through Incheon International Airport on Feb. 16 that her knee had improved significantly, but she later disclosed the exam results on Instagram, writing that she had “three fractures.” * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-19 16:33:00