South Korea adds speed skating top-10 finish, falls short in skeleton mixed team debut SEOUL, February 16 (AJP) - South Korea's Lee Na-hyun placed 10th in the women's 500-meter speed skating on Sunday, marking her second top-10 finish at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, while the country's skeleton mixed team finished 11th in the inaugural Olympic event. Lee clocked 37.86 seconds at Milano Speed Skating Stadium, finishing 0.59 seconds behind bronze medalist Miho Takagi of Japan. The 20-year-old had earlier placed ninth in the women's 1,000 meters, making her the first South Korean to crack the top 10 in that event. Starting from the inside lane in the 13th pairing, Lee passed the first 100 meters in 10.47 seconds, the eighth-fastest opening split. She navigated the first curve smoothly and powered through the straightaway but lost some speed on the final curve, unable to overcome centrifugal force. Kim Min-sun, competing in her third Olympics, finished 14th with a time of 38.01 seconds. The 30-year-old struggled from the start, passing the 100-meter mark in 10.61 seconds, and was unable to close the gap despite her trademark finishing speed. Netherlands' Femke Kok claimed gold with an Olympic record of 36.49 seconds, 0.66 seconds ahead of compatriot Jutta Leerdam, who took silver. Takagi earned bronze with 37.27 seconds. In skeleton, Jeong Seung-gi and Hong Su-jung combined for 2 minutes, 1.45 seconds to finish 11th out of 15 teams in the mixed team event at Cortina Sliding Centre. The format, making its Olympic debut at Milan-Cortina, features one woman and one man from each team completing runs with their times combined. Hong, competing in her first Olympics, recorded 1:01.84 despite posting the fastest reaction time of 0.13 seconds. She struggled with control early in her run, reaching a top speed of 120.48 kilometers per hour before finishing 13th among women. Jeong, who also placed 10th in the men's individual event earlier in the Games, posted 59.61 seconds for 11th place in the men's portion. The 27-year-old showed strong technical skills with a reaction time of 0.19 seconds, sixth-best overall. Britain's Matt Weston and Tabitha Stoecker won the inaugural mixed team gold with a track record of 1:59.36. German teams swept silver and bronze, with Axel Jungk and Susanne Kreher taking silver in 1:59.53, and Christopher Grotheer and Jacqueline Pfeifer claiming bronze in 1:59.54. In women's curling, South Korea defeated Japan 7-5 in their fifth round-robin match at Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium. Skip Kim Eun-ji's team improved to 3-2 after earlier losses to the United States and Denmark. Trailing 3-3 entering the eighth end, South Korea scored three points for a big end. The team then held a one-point lead heading into the 10th end with the hammer, adding one more to secure victory. South Korea currently sits tied for fourth place with Denmark in the 10-team round robin. The top four teams advance to the semifinals, with the medal rounds scheduled for Feb. 20-22. 2026-02-16 11:35:10

South Korea’s Jeong Seung-gi, Hong Su-jeong finish 11th in Olympic mixed team skeleton South Korea’s Jeong Seung-gi (27, Gangwon Provincial Office) and Hong Su-jeong (25, Gyeonggi Sports Association) placed 11th in the Olympic mixed team skeleton event, which was introduced at these Games. Jeong and Hong posted a combined time of 2 minutes, 1.45 seconds on Feb. 16 (Korea time) at the Cortina Sliding Center in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, finishing 11th among 15 teams in the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics. In the mixed team event, the women’s run is followed by the men’s run, with the two times added for the final standings. Hong led off with a 0.13-second start reaction time, the fastest among the women. She lost speed after hitting the wall on the second curve but otherwise completed a clean run in 1:01.84. Jeong followed with a 0.19-second start reaction and stayed steady through the third curve, but his sled slowed in the later section. He finished in 59.61 seconds. South Korea’s total was 2.09 seconds behind gold medalists Britain — Tabitha Stoecker and Matt Weston — who won in 1:59.36. Hong wore a tiger-themed helmet and Jeong wore one inspired by a turtle ship. After the race, they bowed deeply toward the broadcast camera to mark the Lunar New Year holiday. The result wrapped up South Korea’s skeleton schedule at the Games. In the earlier individual events, Hong placed 22nd in the women’s race, while Jeong and Kim Ji-su (32, Gangwon Provincial Office) finished 10th and 16th in the men’s race, respectively.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-16 04:33:00

Kim Min-seon, Lee Na-hyeon miss medals in women’s 500m speedskating at Milan Olympics South Korea’s top women’s sprint speedskater, Kim Min-seon (Uijeongbu City Hall), and rising prospect Lee Na-hyeon (Korea National Sport University) came up short in their signature 500 meters at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Kim finished 14th with 38.01 on Feb. 16 (Korea time) at the Milan speedskating stadium in Italy. Lee placed 10th in 37.86. It was Kim’s third Olympic appearance after placing 16th at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games and seventh at the 2022 Beijing Games. She had shown world-class form, including finishing No. 1 in the 2022-23 World Cup rankings and winning two titles at the 2025 Harbin Asian Winter Games, but did not reach the Olympic podium. Starting on the inside in the 10th pair, Kim passed 100 meters in 10.61 but could not generate her usual speed on the backstretch in the outside lane and crossed in the 38-second range. In her Olympic debut, Lee broke into the top 10. Skating from the inside in the 13th pair, she covered the first 100 meters in 10.47 and held her pace through the finish for 37.86. Femke Kok of the Netherlands won gold in an Olympic-record 36.49. Dutch teammate Jutta Leerdam took silver in 37.15, and Miho Takagi of Japan won bronze in 37.27.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-16 02:06:00

South Korea beats Japan 7-5 in women’s curling to improve to 3-2 at Milan-Cortina Games South Korea’s women’s curling team, known as “5G” (Gyeonggi Province), beat Japan to move to 3-2 in round-robin play. The team — skip Kim Eun-ji, third Kim Min-ji, second Kim Su-ji, lead Seol Ye-eun and fifth Seol Ye-ji — won 7-5 in its fifth round-robin game on Feb. 15 local time at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. With five of nine round-robin games completed, South Korea stayed in the hunt for a spot in the semifinals. South Korea struck first, stealing points in the second and third ends to take a 2-0 lead. The teams traded points and were tied 3-3 through six ends. The game turned in the seventh and eighth. Holding the hammer in the seventh, South Korea chose a blank end to keep last-stone advantage for the eighth. In the eighth, Kim Min-ji set up the scoring with a double takeout and a runback takeout, and Kim Eun-ji finished by drawing into the house for three points and a 6-3 lead. Japan scored two in the ninth, but South Korea added one in the 10th to seal the win. South Korea next plays China at 3:05 a.m. Feb. 17 Korea time. It is also scheduled to face top-ranked Switzerland, No. 4 Sweden and No. 2 Canada. 2026-02-16 01:30:00

Snowboarder Yoo Seung-eun qualifies third for Olympic women’s slopestyle final South Korean snowboarder Yoo Seung-eun, 18, advanced to the women’s slopestyle final, keeping alive her bid for a second medal at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics. Yoo scored 76.80 points on Saturday (Korean time) at Livigno Snow Park in Italy, placing third among 30 riders. The top 12 qualified for the final. She earned her score on her first run, landing a backside 540 melon grab and a backside 720 mute grab cleanly. In her second run, Yoo lost balance early and made an error. Judging it would be difficult to improve on her first score, she opted for basic jumps rather than risk bigger tricks, conserving energy for the final. Defending champion Zoi Sadowski-Synnott of New Zealand led qualifying with 88.08 points from her second run, 11.28 points ahead of Yoo. Big air gold medalist Kokomo Murase of Japan was second with 84.93. Yoo, who won bronze in big air earlier, will try for another medal in the final on the 17th.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-16 01:12:00

Naturalized South Korean biathlete Ekaterina Avvakumova finishes 55th in Olympic 10K pursuit Naturalized South Korean biathlete Ekaterina Avvakumova finished 55th in the women’s 10-kilometer pursuit at the 2026 Milano-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics. Avvakumova, 35, clocked 35 minutes 33.0 seconds in the race held Saturday (Korea time) at the Antholz Biathlon Arena in Italy, placing 55th among 58 finishers. After placing 58th in Friday’s sprint, she earned one of the pursuit berths awarded through 60th place and started near the back under the rules. She missed two shots — one in prone and one in standing — but could not move up significantly because of her skiing time. Avvakumova, a former Russian junior national team member who obtained South Korean citizenship in 2016, is a veteran who posted South Korea’s best Olympic biathlon result by finishing 16th in an individual event at the 2018 PyeongChang Games. At the Milano Olympics, she previously placed 63rd in the 15-kilometer individual race. Italy’s Lisa Vittozzi won gold, crossing first in 30:11.80. Norway’s Maren Kirkeeide took silver, followed by Finland’s Suvi Minkkinen with bronze.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-16 00:30:00

Kumho Petrochemical Earns A- in CDP Climate Rating Kumho Petrochemical said Sunday it received an A- rating from CDP, a global sustainability and environmental, social and governance assessment platform, up from a B rating last year. CDP is a nonprofit that discloses, analyzes and evaluates environmental information from more than 24,000 major companies worldwide at the request of global financial institutions representing a combined $130 trillion in assets. It assesses companies’ climate strategies and execution, including efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions, expand the use of self-consumed solar power and develop Scope 3 reduction road maps. CDP’s system can lower a company’s score if it shows no improvement from the previous year. The results are widely used as a key reference by global ESG rating agencies, institutional investors and international business partners, the company said. Kumho Petrochemical had maintained a B rating for the past three years but was upgraded to A- this year, it said. The company said the higher score reflected its management of carbon emissions in raw and subsidiary materials, known as Scope 3 Category 1, using verified data, and its establishment of a supply-chain climate assessment system that led to practical emissions reductions. Chief Executive Officer Baek Jong-hoon said earning the A- rating showed the company’s climate response had been applied across management and worksites, not limited to declarations or plans. “We will continue responsible climate action so that meaningful change continues across the entire process, including the supply chain,” he said. Separately, the Kumho Petrochemical Group said its affiliates Kumho Mitsui Chemicals and Kumho Polychem received Platinum ratings last year from EcoVadis, a global supply-chain sustainability assessor.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-15 18:03:00

Hyundai, Kia poised to surpass 1 million EVs in cumulative sales in Europe SEOUL, February 15 (AJP) - Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia are on the verge of reaching 1 million cumulative electric vehicle sales in Europe by the first half of this year, the automotive giant said on Sunday. Their combined EV sales stood at 915,996 units as of the end of last year, since the launch of Kia's compact sport-utility vehicle Soul in 2014. With monthly sales surpassing 15,000 units, they are on track to surpass 1 million units in cumulative sales soon. The milestone comes after the two automakers achieved annual sales of 100,000 units for the first time, with some 135,408 units sold there in 2021. Sales continued to rise, reaching 143,460 vehicles in 2022 and 147,457 in 2023, before slightly slipping to 121,705 amid reduced EV subsidies in major European countries including Germany. But sales rebounded to 183,912 last year, buoyed by a wave of new releases such as Hyundai's Ioniq 9 and Kia's EV4 and EV5, setting a record. Meanwhile, Europe's EV market has regained momentum since last year. According to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA), annual EV sales reached 2.59 million units last year, accounting for 19.5 percent of the market. In December, EV sales also surpassed those of gasoline vehicles for the first time. 2026-02-15 16:24:03

ACC to Stream Children’s Theater and Contemporary Dance on YouTube During Lunar New Year Holiday During the Lunar New Year holiday, viewers can watch children’s theater and contemporary dance at home on the ACC YouTube channel. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s National Asian Culture Center said Sunday it will run an online program, “Lunar New Year with ACC,” on the ACC YouTube channel from Feb. 14 to 18. The streamed performances are the children’s play “Eoduksini” and the dance work “1℃,” which raises questions about the climate crisis. “Eoduksini,” created for the “2023 ACC Children and Youth Original Production,” reinterprets Korean folktales in a modern way. The production has continued to tour after winning an acting award at the 2024 Seoul Children’s Theater Awards, earning praise for balancing artistic quality and popular appeal. It follows a traditional Korean goblin, Eoduksini — a creature said to exist only when it receives human attention — and a human child who has retreated into the darkness. As they comfort each other’s wounds, they search for the value of existence in a journey that is dark yet warm. ACC said the play offers children imagination and gives adults a chance to reflect on overlooked beings. A “2025 ACC International Cooperation Performance,” “1℃” is a contemporary dance work by choreographer Heo Seong-im and was selected for the 2025 Seoul International Performing Arts Festival. The piece asks, “Can art spur action in the face of the climate crisis?” and draws audiences into the reality of climate change. It portrays the serious threat that a temperature shift of just 1 degree Celsius can pose to Earth’s ecosystems through dynamic movement, lighting and music, and delivers the message that “every small gesture matters in shaping the future.” The work premiered last October at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts and later completed invited performances at three theaters in the U.K., including London’s Southbank Centre. ACC said the program was planned to expand public access to culture during the holiday and to improve access to ACC original productions. No reservation or fee is required, and anyone can watch through the official ACC YouTube channel. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-15 16:03:00

South Korea secures fifth medal, eyes more in short-track speed skating SEOUL, February 15 (AJP) - With this year's Winter Olympics now halfway through in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, South Korea added one more silver medal as short-track speed skater Hwang Dae-heon finished second in the men's 1,500 meters on Saturday. South Korea is currently ranked 14th in the overall tally, with one gold, two silver, and two bronze medals. Norway continued to lead the standings with ten gold medals, followed by Italy with six, the U.S. with five, and both Australia and France with four each. Hwang's medal was the country's fifth, following snowboarders Kim Sang-gyeom, who won silver in the men's parallel giant slalom; Yoo Seung-eun, who took bronze in the women's big air; Choi Ga-on, who claimed gold in the women's halfpipe; and skater Rim Jong-un, who earned bronze in the men's 1,000 meters in short-track speed skating. With 71 athletes competing at this year's quadrennial sporting event on snow and ice, South Korea is aiming for a top-10 finish with at least three gold medals. The country is now expecting more medals in short-track speed skating. Earlier in the day, the women's 3,000-meter relay team consisting of Choi Min-jeong, Kim Gil-li, Lee So-yeon, and Shim Suk-hee advanced to the final, which is slated for Wednesday. After missing out on medals in both the women's 500 meters and the mixed relay earlier last week, they are determined to win this time. Choi and Kim, who also advanced through the preliminary round of the women's 1,000 meters along with Noh Do-hee, are set to compete in the semifinals and final scheduled for Monday. In speed skating, Kim Jun-ho wrapped up his fourth Olympic appearance by finishing 12th in the men's 500 meters with a time of 34.68 seconds, while his compatriot Koo Kyung-min placed 15th with a time of 34.80 seconds. Speed skaters Kim Min-sun and Lee Na-hyun are set to compete in the women's 500 meters later in the day. Russian-born Ekaterina Avvakumova, who became a naturalized South Korean in 2016, finished 58th out of 91 competitors in the women's 7.5-kilometer biathlon sprint with a time of 23:18.03. She previously made history by winning South Korea's first-ever biathlon gold medal at the 2025 Asian Winter Games in Harbin. Biathlon, which combines cross-country skiing with rifle shooting, became an official Olympic discipline for women at the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville, France. Meanwhile, Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen became South America's first Winter Olympic medalist by winning gold in the men's giant slalom. It was the first time an athlete from a South American nation had ever won a medal at the Winter Olympics, which began in 1924. Braathen, born to a Brazilian mother and Norwegian father, competed for Norway at the 2022 Beijing Olympics before switching to represent Brazil in 2024. 2026-02-15 14:36:00