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Team Korea returns home after Winter Olympics in Italy

Published: 24 Feb. 2026, 21:03

Team Korea returns home through Terminal 2 of Incheon International Airport on Feb. 24 after competing at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. [JANG JIN-YOUNG]

The main group of Korean athletes who competed at the Winter Olympics in Italy returned home Tuesday after meeting the country's gold medal target.

A welcome ceremony at the airport upon Team Korea’s return brought together the athletes along with Korean Sport & Olympic Committee President Ryu Seung-min and Korea Skating Union President Lee Soo-kyung, who was the country's chef de mission during the Olympics.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Chae Hwi-young delivered a message of encouragement and thanks for the passion and fighting spirit the athletes showed at the competition.

“Our 71 athletes across six sports brought the nation profound emotion and joy beyond wins and medals,” Chae said Tuesday. “The harmony between veteran athletes and rising stars showed new possibilities for Korean winter sports and became a new milestone of dreams and challenges for the next generation.”

Korea finished the Milan-Cortina Winter Games, which concluded Sunday, with three gold medals, four silver medals and three bronze medals, good for 13th place in the medal race.

Team Korea returns home through Incheon International Airport on Feb. 24 after competing at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. [JANG JIN-YOUNG]

Korean short track speed skaters Choi Min-jeong, left, and Hwang Dae-heon carry the national flag during the closing ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics at Verona Olympic Arena in Verona, Italy, on Feb. 22. [YONHAP]

Korean athletes enter the Verona Olympic Arena in Verona, Italy, for the closing ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Feb. 22. [YONHAP]

Korea had set out to win at least one more gold medal than the two it had taken home from the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and accomplished that mission thanks to a late push by its short track speed skaters.

And those short trackers led the delegation that arrived at Incheon International Airport on Tuesday after combining to win seven of Korea's 10 medals.

Kim Gil-li was Korea's only double gold medalist, as she captured the women's 1,500-meter title and anchored the country to the women's 3,000m relay gold. She added a bronze in the 1,000m and finished as the first Korean short tracker to win at least three medals in an Olympic debut in 12 years. Kim was voted by Korean journalists covering the competition as the MVP of the delegation.

Choi Ga-on, who won gold in the women’s snowboard halfpipe at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, speaks with reporters after returning home through Terminal 2 of Incheon International Airport on Feb. 16. [YONHAP]

Kim Sang-kyum, who won silver in the men’s snowboard parallel giant slalom at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, returns home via Incheon International Airport on Feb. 10. [YONHAP]

Korean athletes enter the Verona Olympic Arena in Verona, Italy, for the closing ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Feb. 22. [YONHAP]

Another short track speed skater, Choi Min-jeong, became the most decorated Korean Olympic athlete with seven career medals. She won gold in the 3,000-meter relay and silver in the 1,500-meter, finishing behind Kim.

The men's short track team won silver in the 5,000-meter relay, while two relay members also won individual medals — with Hwang Dae-heon taking silver in the 1,500 meters and Rim Jong-un grabbing bronze in the 1,000 meters.

Korea's three other medals came from snowboarding — Choi Ga-on's gold in the women's halfpipe, Kim Sang-kyum's silver in the men's parallel giant slalom and Yu Seung-eun's bronze in the women's big air. The boarders returned home earlier this month after their competition ended.

Korean athletes enter the Verona Olympic Arena in Verona, Italy, for the closing ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Feb. 22. [YONHAP]

Yu Seung-eun, who won bronze in the women’s snowboard big air at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, poses after arriving at Incheon International Airport on Feb. 21. [YONHAP]

Team Korea is set to begin full-scale preparations for the French Alps 2030 Winter Olympics.

At the closing ceremony held at the Verona Olympic Arena in Italy on Sunday, some 2,900 athletes representing 92 National Olympic Committees took part, bringing 17 days of competition to an end.

Korean men’s singles figure skater Cha Jun-hwan returns home through Terminal 2 of Incheon International Airport on Feb. 23. [YONHAP]

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG, YONHAP [[email protected]]

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Team Korea returns home after Winter Olympics in Italy

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