The South Korean team collected six gold medals in a single day at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. The archery compound event saw the country's first-ever gold medal in the men's individual competition, while shooting added two golds on the same day. In taekwondo, South Korea swept both the men's and women's individual events.
As of that day, South Korea had a total of 30 gold medals, 30 silver medals, and 52 bronze medals. With six golds and four bronzes added in one day, South Korea maintained its third-place position behind China (153 medals) and Japan (59 medals).
The first gold of the day came from shooting. In the men's 25m rapid fire pistol team event, South Korea's Song Jong-ho (IBK Industrial Bank), Yoon Seo-young (KB Kookmin Bank), and Lee Geon-hyeok (Daegu Public Facilities Management Corporation) combined for a score of 1,749, beating China by nine points (1,740). This gold medal in the team event is South Korea's first since the 2014 Incheon Games.
Lee Geon-hyeok also triumphed in the individual event, scoring 32 points in the final and winning the gold medal after a shoot-off against China's Su Lianbo. This marks the first time a South Korean athlete has won both the individual and team events in men's 25m rapid fire pistol since Kim Jun-hong at the 2014 Incheon Games. Lee is the fourth athlete from South Korea to achieve a double gold at this event, following Jo Kwang-hee, Kim Hyo-bin (canoeing), and Oh Sang-wook (fencing).
In archery, Kim Jong-ho (Hyundai Steel) made history by winning the men's compound individual final, defeating Taiwan's Cheng Cheng-wei 149-145. This is the first time a South Korean man has topped the compound individual event at the Asian Games. In the women's compound individual event, 14-year-old Kang Yeon-seo secured a bronze medal by defeating Park Jeong-yoon 145-143 in the bronze medal match.
In taekwondo, both the men's and women's events saw South Korean gold medals. Jeong Ha-eun (Yongin City Hall) won the women's individual final at the Toyohashi Gymnasium, scoring an average of 9.3100 points in both the recognized and free forms, placing first among eight competitors. South Korea has now won this event for two consecutive Asian Games, following the 2022 Hangzhou Games.
Yoon Gyu-seong (2nd Army Corps) also claimed gold in the men's individual final, scoring an average of 9.3800 points in both forms. South Korea has now won the men's individual taekwondo event for three consecutive Asian Games.
In judo, Heo Mi-mi (Gyeongbuk Sports Council) secured South Korea's first gold medal in judo at this event. A descendant of independence activist Heo Seok, Heo won the women's 57kg final against Mongolia's Ariunzhaya Terbish with an effective throw. In the men's 81kg category, Lee Jun-hwan, despite an injury, won a bronze medal by defeating Iran's Elias Farhizgar in the bronze medal match. Lee, a silver medalist at the 2022 Hangzhou Games, has now medaled in consecutive Asian Games.
South Korea also earned bronze medals in jiu-jitsu and sport climbing. Joo Seong-hyun won a bronze in the men's 69kg jiu-jitsu category by defeating the Philippines' Mark Alexander Lim in the bronze medal match. In women's sport climbing bouldering, Seo Chae-hyun scored 70 points in the finals to secure a bronze medal, marking her second consecutive medal at the Asian Games following the Hangzhou event.
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However, some teams fell short of the podium. In the women's cycling Madison event, the duo of Shin Ji-eun and Jang Su-ji finished fourth with 26 points, just four points behind the bronze medalists from China. The men's volleyball team lost to Iran in a five-set match, failing to secure medals for the second consecutive tournament.
Starting with shooting, South Korea added gold medals across various sports, bringing their total to 30. As the competition continues, they remain in the race for third place, aiming for more medals in the remaining events.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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