Journalist

Kang Sang Heon
  • Soaring Gold and Silver Prices Push Milan-Cortina Olympic Medals to Record Metal Value
    Soaring Gold and Silver Prices Push Milan-Cortina Olympic Medals to Record Metal Value The athletes who step onto the podium at the Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics will take home honor — and what is being described as the most expensive medals ever, driven by a global surge in gold and silver prices. CNN reported on Feb. 5 local time that more than 700 gold, silver and bronze medals are expected to be awarded across events including skiing, ice hockey, figure skating and curling. While the symbolic value of a medal cannot be priced, CNN said the metal value alone is at a record high. The jump reflects a sharp rise in precious-metals prices. According to financial data provider FactSet, since the Paris Olympics in July 2024, spot gold has risen about 107% and spot silver about 200%. As a result, a Winter Olympics gold medal is valued at about US$2,300 (about 3.38 million won), and a silver medal at about US$1,400 (about 2.06 million won). That is more than double the Paris 2024 level for gold medals and more than triple for silver medals. Italy’s state mint made the gold medals using recycled metals. Although they appear gold, they are filled with pure silver. Under International Olympic Committee rules, gold medals must be based on at least 92.5% pure silver and plated with at least 6 grams of gold. For this Games, the gold medal is made with 500 grams of 99.9% silver and plated with 6 grams of gold, for a total weight of 506 grams. By contrast, the raw-material value of a bronze medal — made with about 420 grams of copper — is about US$5.60 (about 7,500 won) each. Analysts expect precious-metals prices to remain strong, which could push medal values higher in future Olympics. Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Denmark-based investment bank Saxo Bank, said demand is likely to hold up given geopolitical uncertainty and rising government debt. He predicted medals for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics will be much more expensive than those for Milan. Still, medals are not valued only by their metal content. CNN noted that Olympic medals can sell for far more as collectibles, citing a 1912 Stockholm Olympics gold medal that sold for US$26,000 (38.22 million won) in 2015. CNN added, however, that most Olympic medals are never sold. 2026-02-06 17:21:00
  • Figure Skating Team Event Begins as Milan-Cortina Olympics Open; Carey, Bocelli Set for Ceremony
    Figure Skating Team Event Begins as Milan-Cortina Olympics Open; Carey, Bocelli Set for Ceremony The 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics have begun, and South Korea’s team has moved into full competition in pursuit of medals. About 2,900 athletes from 92 national Olympic committees are competing for 116 gold medals across eight sports and 16 disciplines. South Korea sent a 130-member delegation, including 71 athletes, and is aiming to win at least three gold medals and finish in the top 10 overall. Ahead of the official opening, mixed doubles curling began on Feb. 5 (Korea time). Because curling matches run long, 10 teams started a round-robin schedule before the opening ceremony. South Korea’s first athletes in action, Kim Seon-young and Jeong Yeong-seok, opened with a 10-3 loss to Swedish siblings Isabella Brano and Rasmus Brano, former world champions, on Feb. 5 in the morning. They then faced Italy later that day and will go on to play Switzerland, Britain, the Czech Republic, the United States, Estonia, Canada and Norway as they fight for a spot in the semifinals. Figure skating’s team event begins Feb. 6 in the afternoon, with the ice dance rhythm dance and the women’s short program scheduled. It is South Korea’s first appearance in the Olympic team event since the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. Without a pairs team, South Korea will compete using men’s and women’s singles and ice dance. The United States, Japan, Italy, Canada and other top-10 nations based on international results are also entered. Lim Hae-na and Kwon Ye are set for the team event ice dance rhythm dance at 5:55 p.m. Lim was born in Canada and holds dual Canadian and South Korean citizenship. Kwon, a Chinese Canadian, received special naturalization from South Korea’s Justice Ministry in December 2024 to compete at the Olympics. Shin Ji-a will skate the women’s short program at 9:35 p.m. The opening ceremony is scheduled for 4 a.m. Feb. 7 at Milan’s Giuseppe Meazza Stadium. Italian director Marco Balich, who has produced opening and closing ceremonies for major international sports events including the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics, is serving as artistic director. The ceremony’s theme is “Armonia,” Italian for “harmony.” With about 1,200 performers, the ceremony will feature Mariah Carey, Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and Chinese pianist Lang Lang. The International Olympic Committee said it expects the event to showcase “a harmony of Italian culture and global popular arts.” Events and athlete parades will also be held simultaneously in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Predazzo and Livigno. South Korea’s flag bearers are men’s figure skater Cha Jun-hwan and women’s speed skater Park Ji-woo, who competes in the mass start. Both are appearing at their third Olympics after Pyeongchang in 2018 and Beijing in 2022. Pita Taufatofua, known for drawing attention at three Olympic opening ceremonies including Pyeongchang in 2018 by appearing shirtless, will carry the Olympic flag. Organizers selected 10 flag bearers, including Taufatofua. Because the Games are being staged in two cities, cauldrons have been installed in both Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo and will be lit and extinguished at the same time. Milan’s cauldron is at the Arco della Pace, and Cortina d’Ampezzo’s is in Piazza Dibona. The cauldrons were designed with inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci’s work “Knot,” featuring a spherical form made of aircraft-grade aluminum that holds the Olympic flame.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-06 00:03:00
  • South Korea Mixed Doubles Curling Team Falls to Italy, Drops to 0-2 in Round Robin
    South Korea Mixed Doubles Curling Team Falls to Italy, Drops to 0-2 in Round Robin South Korea’s mixed doubles curling pair of Kim Seon-young (Gangneung City Hall) and Jeong Yeong-seok (Gangwon Provincial Office) lost their second straight round-robin game at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics. Kim and Jeong fell 8-4 to Italy’s Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner on Feb. 5 at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, in their second round-robin match. Earlier that day, South Korea were routed 10-3 by Sweden’s Isabella and Rasmus Bran, leaving the Koreans 0-2 in the round robin. Ten teams are competing in mixed doubles, with each nation playing a round-robin schedule. The top four advance to the semifinals and final to determine the medals. South Korea are set to play Switzerland, Britain, the Czech Republic, the United States, Estonia, Canada and Norway next. Kim and Jeong earned the last of the 10 Olympic berths through the Olympic Qualification Event (OQE). It is the second time South Korean curling have competed in Olympic mixed doubles, and the first since Pyeongchang 2018, when Jang Hye-ji and Lee Gi-jeong represented the country. South Korea have opened against top opponents. The Bran siblings won the 2024 world championship, and Constantini and Mosaner are the 2022 Beijing Olympic gold medalists and last year’s world champions. In South Korea’s first game, play was interrupted when a sudden power outage darkened the arena and shut off the scoreboard. The match stopped for about 10 minutes before resuming after power was restored. With South Korea trailing 10-3 through six ends of an eight-end match, an official recommended ending the game, and Kim and Jeong offered handshakes that ended play. A comeback was still mathematically possible because a team can score up to six points in one end. Some have suggested the official may have mistakenly believed only one end remained. Under the rules, an early finish is finalized not by an official’s declaration but when a player offers a handshake to concede. Even with the recommendation, the outcome could have differed if Kim and Jeong had protested on the spot, but the match ended after the handshakes. Kim and Jeong are scheduled to play Switzerland at 3:05 a.m. on Feb. 6 in their third round-robin game. 2026-02-05 23:45:00
  • Badminton Star Kim Won Ho Wins Korean Sport and Olympic Committee’s Top Sports Award
    Badminton Star Kim Won Ho Wins Korean Sport and Olympic Committee’s Top Sports Award Kim Won Ho (Samsung Life), who won the men’s doubles title at the 2025 Paris World Badminton Championships and claimed 11 World Tour titles in a single season, has been selected for the top prize at the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee’s sports awards. The committee said Thursday it chose Kim for making “remarkable contributions to South Korean sports in 2025” and for helping advance and promote athletics. The top award includes a plaque and a special prize. After review by its Sports Fairness Committee and approval at its 12th board meeting on Monday, the committee selected 93 individuals and five organizations as winners across eight categories: competition, coaching, officiating, recreational sports, school sports, merit, research and sports values. Category grand-prize winners were: Choi Tae Ho (Gangwon Province Cycling Federation) and Ban Hyo Jin (Daegu Physical Education High School) in competition; Lee Se Won, weightlifting coach for Goyang City Hall, and Jung Sung Sook, judo coach at Yongin University, in coaching; Kim Eun Hee (Korea Judo Association) in officiating; Cha Du Yeon (Busan Roller Sports Federation) in recreational sports; Oh Jong Hwan, a teacher at Oncheon Elementary School, in school sports; Lee Chung Hwan, vice president of the Korea Sepaktakraw Association, and Kim Gwang Tae, vice president of the Daejeon Modern Pentathlon Federation, in merit; Kim Seok Gyu, an associate professor in sports science at Dongguk University, in research; and Park Kang Gyu, president of the Seoul Curling Federation, in sports values. Winners receive plaques and prizes. The committee also will present plaques and prizes to other recipients in each category: 21 individuals and three organizations receiving excellence awards, and 60 individuals and two organizations receiving encouragement awards. The Korean Sport and Olympic Committee established the awards in 1955 and has honored people each year for outstanding performance or for creative and dedicated efforts that contribute to the development of South Korean sports. The 72nd awards ceremony is scheduled for 2 p.m. March 13 at Champion House at the Taereung Training Center.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-05 15:45:00
  • Striker Oh Hyeon-gyu signs with Turkish club
    Striker Oh Hyeon-gyu signs with Turkish club SEOUL, February 5 (AJP) - Striker Oh Hyeon-gyu has transferred from Belgium's KRC Genk to Turkey's Beşiktaş JK. According to the Turkish club, he signed a deal running through June 2029 for a transfer fee of 14 million euros. Beşiktaş JK, based in Istanbul, are one of Turkey's most decorated clubs with 16 Turkish Süper Lig titles and 11 Turkish Cup trophies. Oh began his European career in January 2023 with Scottish powerhouse Celtic FC after leaving Suwon Samsung, then moved to Genk in the summer of 2024, where he scored 10 goals along with three assists in 32 appearances this season, including in the UEFA Europa League. 2026-02-05 09:30:19
  • NOL Universe launches official merchandise for 2027 Chungcheong Universiade
    NOL Universe launches official merchandise for 2027 Chungcheong Universiade NOL Universe said Wednesday it has launched 18 types of official merchandise for the 2027 Chungcheong Universiade, including hooded sweatshirts, caps and key rings. The release follows an October agreement with the Chungcheong Universiade Organizing Committee on an official merchandising rights project. Under the deal, NOL Universe is responsible for developing, producing and selling souvenirs using the event’s intellectual property, including its logo, emblem and mascot. The items are available through the Chungcheong Universiade category on NOL MD shop, the company’s sports merchandise platform. To mark the launch, NOL Universe is offering discounts of up to 50% on related products until further notice. Separately, the organizing committee will run an Instagram event through March 5, offering prizes to customers who post proof of purchase of the newly released goods. Baek Sae Mi, head of NOL Universe’s entertainment business, said the company has released sports merchandise with teams and associations to help fans and athletes unite. She said the 2027 Chungcheong Universiade goods will help support people worldwide in cheering on the student-athlete festival. The 2027 Chungcheong Universiade is an international sports festival for university students. It will be held Aug. 1-12 next year across four provinces and cities in the Chungcheong region: Daejeon, Sejong, North Chungcheong and South Chungcheong. About 15,000 student-athletes from about 150 countries are expected to compete in 18 sports. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-05 08:57:00
  • South Korea striker Oh Hyeon-gyu joins Besiktas from Genk for 14 million euros
    South Korea striker Oh Hyeon-gyu joins Besiktas from Genk for 14 million euros South Korea national team striker Oh Hyeon-gyu has left Belgium’s Genk to join Turkey’s Besiktas. Besiktas announced the signing on its website on Feb. 5, Korea time. The club said the transfer fee was 14 million euros ($14 million), about 24.1 billion won. The deal runs through June 2029, a term of 3 1/2 years. Oh will wear No. 9, typically associated with a team’s starting center forward. Besiktas, based in Istanbul, are one of Turkey’s most successful clubs, with 16 Turkish Super Lig titles and 11 Turkish Cup trophies. This season, Besiktas are fifth in the 18-team league at 10-6-4 (36 points). Oh began his European career in January 2023, leaving Suwon Samsung in South Korea’s second-tier K League 2 to join Scottish powerhouse Celtic. Over a season and a half, he scored 12 goals in 47 appearances in all competitions and helped the club complete a domestic treble. He moved to Genk in the summer of 2024 and has 10 goals and three assists in 32 matches in all competitions this season, including the UEFA Europa League.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-05 08:48:00
  • South Korea curling mixed doubles team routed by Sweden in Olympic opener
    South Korea curling mixed doubles team routed by Sweden in Olympic opener South Korea’s first athletes to compete at the Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics opened with a lopsided loss in curling mixed doubles. Kim Seon Yeong (Gangneung City Hall) and Jeong Yeong Seok (Gangwon Province Office) lost 10-3 to Sweden’s Isabella and Rasmus Wranå on Feb. 5 (Korea time) in their first round-robin game at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in Cortina d’Ampezzo. The Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics are set to begin with an opening ceremony at 4:30 a.m. on Feb. 7 at the San Siro Olympic Stadium in Milan. Mixed doubles began round-robin play ahead of the ceremony, making Kim and Jeong the first South Korean competitors to take the ice. Ten teams are competing in mixed doubles, with each nation playing a round-robin schedule. The top four advance to the semifinals and final to determine the medals. South Korea’s round-robin opponents are Italy, Switzerland, Britain, the Czech Republic, the United States, Estonia, Canada and Norway, in addition to Sweden. Kim and Jeong secured the final of the 10 Olympic mixed doubles berths through the Olympic Qualification Event. It is the second time South Korean curling has entered the Olympic mixed doubles field, following Pyeongchang 2018 (Jang Hye Ji and Lee Gi Jeong). Sweden’s Wranå siblings are the 2024 world champions. South Korea could not close the gap against Sweden’s precise shotmaking and dropped its opener. Kim and Jeong are scheduled to play host Italy’s Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner at 6:05 p.m. at the same venue. The Italian pair won gold at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. The game was briefly interrupted when the arena lost power during the first end, darkening the venue and shutting off the scoreboard. Play resumed after about 10 minutes once electricity was restored. 2026-02-05 06:06:00
  • South Korea’s Rising Winter Sports Stars to Watch at the Milan-Cortina Olympics
    South Korea’s Rising Winter Sports Stars to Watch at the Milan-Cortina Olympics The 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics are expected to be a key test of South Korea’s next generation in winter sports. The Games will show whether South Korea can broaden its medal hopes beyond ice events to snow sports, while a younger core takes on leading roles. ◆Short track: Lim Jong-eon, Kim Gil-li in focus Short track remains South Korea’s strongest Olympic sport, and Lim Jong-eon, 19, has emerged as a headline prospect. The International Olympic Committee said on its website on Feb. 2 (local time) that Lim was one of its “10 rising athletes who will shine at the 2026 Winter Olympics,” the only South Korean on the list. The IOC called him “the next ace of the South Korean team,” noting he won the national trials by beating 2022 Beijing Olympic gold medalist Hwang Dae-heon. Lim earned the national team spot last April with 102 points, finishing ahead of Hwang and Park Ji-won. In his World Cup debut season on the International Skating Union circuit in 2025-26, he won gold in the 1,500 meters and silver in the 1,000 in October in Montreal. He added a 1,000 win in November in Dordrecht, Netherlands, and finished fourth overall in the 1,000 standings in his first senior season. On the women’s side, Kim Gil-li, 22, is set for her first Olympics and will skate five events: the mixed 2,000-meter relay, women’s 3,000 relay, and the 500, 1,000 and 1,500. Her main event is the 1,500. On Feb. 4, Canadian sports analytics firm Shoreview Sports Analytics projected that “Kim Gil-li will win” the 1,500. Kim moved into the senior ranks in the 2022-23 season and quickly rose. In 2023-24, her second senior season, she won the overall ISU World Cup title to become world No. 1, the first South Korean women’s short-track skater to claim the Crystal Globe. At the Harbin Asian Winter Games last February, she won the women’s 1,500 and the mixed relay for two gold medals. She took silver in the 1,000 and 500 behind South Korea’s top skater, Choi Min-jeong, 28. ◆A new wave after Lee Sang-hwa and Kim Yu-na In women’s speed skating, Lee Na-hyeon, 21, is aiming to fill the sprint void left after Lee Sang-hwa’s retirement. In the 2023-24 season, Lee Na-hyeon set a junior world record of 37.34 seconds in the women’s 500 at the fifth ISU World Cup stop. In the 2025-26 World Cup season, she ranked fourth in the women’s 500 across stops 1-4. She also raised her profile at the Harbin Asian Winter Games, winning the women’s 100 by beating South Korea’s sprint star Kim Min-seon, 27. Lee Na-hyeon added gold in the team sprint and silver in the women’s 500. Figure skater Shin Ji-a, 18, will also make her Olympic debut. South Korea has not produced an Olympic figure-skating medalist since Kim Yu-na won gold at the 2010 Vancouver Games and silver at the 2014 Sochi Games. Shin dominated as a junior, winning silver at the junior world championships four straight years from 2022 through 2025. She also took silver at the 2024 Gangwon Winter Youth Olympics. After becoming age-eligible for seniors, she won both the first and second national team trials to secure an Olympic berth. ◆Choi Ga-on, Lee Chae-woon aim at first snow gold Snow events have long been a weak spot for South Korea at the Winter Olympics. The country’s only medal in a snow sport is Lee Sang-ho’s silver in snowboard parallel giant slalom at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. This time, South Korea’s snowboard halfpipe team has drawn talk of possible medals for both men and women. Choi Ga-on, 18, is viewed as a top gold contender in the women’s halfpipe. Forbes reported on Feb. 3 that Choi could be “the strongest challenger” to Chloe Kim, who is seeking a third straight Olympic title. Forbes added that if Choi wins gold, she would also break the record for the youngest Olympic snowboard gold medalist. Choi won the pipe event at the X Games in January 2023 at age 14 years, 3 months, setting a record as the youngest champion. In the 2025-26 season, she won three times on the International Ski and Snowboard Federation World Cup circuit and is ranked No. 1 in women’s halfpipe. On the men’s side, Lee Chae-woon, 20, is the leading halfpipe hope. He broke through in 2019 by winning big air at the World Rookie Tour at age 13, then became the inaugural champion of the FIS Snowboard Halfpipe Asian Cup in 2020. At the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, he competed as the youngest athlete on South Korea’s team and finished 14th. His rise continued in 2023 at the Bakuriani world championships, where he won gold at age 16 years, 10 months, becoming the youngest champion and South Korea’s first snowboard world champion. He later won two gold medals at the Gangwon Winter Youth Olympics in halfpipe and slopestyle, and took gold in slopestyle at the Harbin Asian Winter Games. Lee’s momentum was interrupted by a torn knee meniscus in August 2024, followed by knee surgery last March. He struggled in World Cup events this season, but showed signs of a rebound on Jan. 18 at the Laax World Cup in Switzerland, finishing eighth for his best result of the season. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-04 16:15:00
  • Milan-Cortina 2026 to stage Winter Olympics across four clusters in first split-host Games
    Milan-Cortina 2026 to stage Winter Olympics across four clusters in first split-host Games Italy is set to host the Winter Olympics again for the first time in 20 years, with the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Games notable for using two host-city names in the official title and spreading events across multiple sites. It will be Italy’s third Winter Olympics, after Cortina d’Ampezzo in 1956 and Turin in 2006. With the 1960 Rome Summer Olympics, Italy will have hosted the Olympics four times overall. The Games will feature eight sports and 16 disciplines, with 116 gold medals at stake — seven more than Beijing 2022 (109). Competition will be staged across four clusters in northern Italy: the major city of Milan; the Alpine resort of Cortina d’Ampezzo; and the Valtellina-Bormio and Val di Fiemme areas. Organizers say it is the widest geographic footprint of any Olympics. Olympic cauldrons will be installed in both Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, about 400 kilometers (250 miles) apart, roughly a five-hour drive. Organizers say the plan aligns with the International Olympic Committee’s push for sustainability by limiting new construction. Of the 25 venues, 19 are existing facilities and four are temporary. Only two venues were newly built for the Olympics. Sustainability efforts also extend to the medals and torches: Medals were cast using metals recovered from waste and made with renewable energy, and the torch uses recycled aluminum and other materials as its main components. The opening and closing ceremonies will be held in different cities. The opening ceremony is set for Milan’s Giuseppe Meazza stadium, home to AC Milan and Inter Milan, which will be used as an outdoor performance venue with capacity for 80,000 during the Olympics. The closing ceremony will be held at the Verona Arena, an ancient amphitheater in Verona, the city associated with Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.” The official slogan is “IT’s Your Vibe,” a message aimed at sharing solidarity, energy and passion among everyone involved in the Olympics. The emblem, titled “Futura” — Italian for “future” — was chosen through a public vote and features a simple design resembling the number “26” traced by a finger on snow. The official mascots, Tina and Milo, are characters based on martens that live in Italy’s mountain regions. Their names come from Cortina and Milan. Tina, in brighter colors, represents the Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics, while her younger brother Milo, with darker fur, represents the Winter Paralympics.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-04 00:03:58